ISTORICAL 


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POPULAR*  SGaoSrMTOE 


UNITED  STATES, 

IN   WHICH  ARE   INSERTED   AS   PART   OP  THE   NARRATIVE 

SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF  EMINENT  AMERICAN 

HISTORIANS,   AND    OTHER    AMERICAN 

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TO  WHICH    ARE   ADDED 


The  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  Constitution  of  th& 
United  States,  'with  Copious  Notes. 


FULLY   ILLUSTRATED    WITH   MAPS,    PORTRAITS,    AND    VIEWS. 


JOHN    J.    ANDERSON,    PH.D., 

Author  of  a  "Grammar  School  History  of  the  United  States,"  a  "Manual  of  General 

History,"  a  "History  of  England,"  a  "History  of  France,"  "The  Historical 

Reader,"  "The  United  States  Reader,"  etc.,  etc. 

JOHN  S.  PRELL 

Gflr/  &  Mechtmtcal  Engineer. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  GAL. 

NEW    YORK: 

CLAKK   &   MAYNAKD,    PUBLISHEKS, 

5  BAKCLAY  STREET. 
1880. 


EDDCATIOI7  I.IBH. 

Anderson's  Historical  Series. 


A  Junior  Class   History  of  the   United   States. 

Illustrated  with  hundreds  of  portraits,  views,  maps,  etc.    272  pages.    IGmo. 

A  Grammar  School  History  of  the  United  States. 

Annotated ;  and  illustrated  with  numerous  portraits  and  views,  and  with  more  than 
forty  maps,  many  of  which  are  colored.  340  pp.  16mo. 

A  Pictorial  School  History  of  the  United  States. 

Fully  illustrated  with  maps,  portraits,  vignettes,  etc.    420  pp.    12mo. 

A  Popular  School  History  of  the  United  States, 

in  which  are  inserted  as  a  part  of  the  narrative  selections  from  the  writings  of  eminent 
American  historians  and  other  American  writers  of  note.  Fuily  illustrated  with  maps, 
colored  a'id  plain  ;  portraits,  views,  etc.  356  pp.  12mo. 

A  Manual  of  General  History,    illustrated  with  numerous 

•engravings  and  with  beautifully  colored  maps  showing  the  changes  in  the  political  di 
visions  of  the  world,  and  giving  the  location  of  important  places.  488  pp.  12mo. 

i 

A  School  History  Of  England.  Illustrated  with  numerous 
engravings  and  with  colored  maps  showing  the  geographical  changes  in  the  country  at 
different  periods.  332  pp.  12mo. 

A  School  History  Of  France.  Illustrated  with  numerous  en- 
erravings,  colored  and  uncolored  maps.  373  pp.  12mo. 

A  History  Of  Rome.  Amply  illustrated  with  maps,  plans,  and 
engravings.  543  pp.  By  R.  F.  LEIGHTON,  Ph.D.  (Lips.). 

A  School  History  of  Greece,    in  preparation. 
Anderson's  Bloss's  Ancient  History,     illustrated  with 

engravings,  colored  maps,  and  a  chart.    445  pp.    12mo. 

The  Historical  Reader,  embracing  selections  in  prose  and  verse, 
from  standard  writers  of  Ancient  and  Modern  History  ;  with  a  Vocabulary  of  Difficult 
Words,  and  Biographical  and  Geographical  Indexes.  544  pp.  12mo. 

The  United  States  Reader,  embracing  selections  from  eminent 
American  historians,  orators,  statesmen,  and  poets,  with  explanatory  observations, 
no  es,  etc.  Arranged  so  as  to  form  a  Class-manual  of  United  States  History.  Illustrated 
with  .colored  historical  maps.  414  pp.  12mo. 

CLARK  &  MAYNARD,  Publishers, 

S  Barclay  Street,  New  York. 

Copyright,  1879,  by  JOHN  J.  ANDERSON. 


ran 


EH8 
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Edcut, 


PEEFAOE. 


A  TEXT-BOOK  upon  the  history  of  our  country  so  compiled 
as  to  be  a  pleasant  reading-book,  with  enough  variety  to  give  it 
all  the  interest  properly  lelonging  to  a  reading-book,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  contain  all  the  United  States  history  that  is 
required  for  ordinary  school  purposes,  has  long  been  desired 
by  many  teachers. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author  of  this  work  to  meet  this 
want.  He  has  realized,  however,  that  to  undertake  the  prep 
aration  of  the  work  without  outside  assistance  would  surely 
end  in  failure,  for  no  such  undertaking  could  possibly  have 
within  itself  the  elements  of  variety  so  necessary  in  a  school 
reader.  But  variety,  merely  as  such,  is  of  no  special  impor 
tance.  It  is  that  variety  which  not  only  elevates,  but  culti 
vates  and  ennobles  the  mind  of  the  pupil — a  variety  only  to 
be  obtained  by  selecting  from  the  writings  that  have  met  the 
approval  of  men  of  judgment  and  scholarship. 

The  plan  carried  out  in  this  volume,  it  is  believed,  fully 
accomplishes  this  object.  The  works  of  all  the  American 
writers  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  domain  of 
historic  authorship,  have  been  diligently  consulted  ;  and,  as 
far  as  seemed  possible  consistently  with  the  size  and  scope  of 
the  undertaking  in  hand,  these  authors  have  been  made  to 
contribute  to  the  contents  of  the  volume.  It  may,  therefore, 
be  said  to  be  the  work  of  many — fifty  or  more — of  our  best 
writers,  past  as  well  as  present ;  and,  in  addition  to  its  merits 
as  a  continuous  historical  narrative,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a 
text-book  for  young  students  in  American  literature.  To 
know  something  of  Bancroft,  Palfrey,  Prescott,  Motley,  Haw- 

6G7 


iv  Preface. 


thorne,  Irving,  Bryant,  Hildreth,  Sparks,  Everett,  Parkman, 
and  other  distinguished  American  writers,  and  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  what  and  how  they  wrote,  is  not  only  to  make 
a  good  beginning  in  an  acquaintance  with  our  leading  authors 
and  with  the  best  American  literature,  but  it  is  to  create  a 
taste  for  such  literature  and  a  desire  for  further  acquaintance 
with  these  authors. 

In  presenting  another  history  of  our  country  as  a  text-book 
for  schools,  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the  writer  to  give  only 
those  events  that  were  important  in  themselves,  or  that  had  an 
important  bearing  upon  or  relation  to  important  results.  It 
will  be  seen,  then,  that  very  much  of  that  which  finds  a  place 
in  the  ordinary  school  history,  is  not  found  here.  Details, 
except  as  far  as  they  are  necessary  to  the  proper  understand 
ing  of  what  should  be  known,  are  entirely  omitted.  General 
ly,  they  are  not  worth  knowing,  and,  consequently,  no  time 
should  be  spent  in  lumbering  the  mind  with  them.  For  the 
same  reason,  dates-  have  been  given  sparingly.  The  most 
prominent,  those  that  mark  the  great  events,  are  clearly 
given,  while  other  events  are  regarded  as  contributing  to,  or 
resulting  from  these.  More  prominence  has  been  given  to 
the  facts  that  have  to  do  with  the  nation's  progress  in  civil 
matters  than  to  those  of  a  military  character.  Therefore,  the 
invention  of  the  cotton-gin  and  the  magnetic  telegraph  and 
the  construction  of  railroads  and  steamboats,  with  the 
changes  resulting  therefrom,  have  been  regarded  and  treated 
as  of  more  value  than  the  numerous  small  battles  that  in  no 
wise  modified  the  tendency  of  great  events. 

Too  much  importance  cannot  be  given  to  geography  in  its 
connection  with  history.  It  is  certain  that  an  accurate  knowl 
edge  of  history  cannot  be  acquired  and  retained  without  a 
full  and  clear  knowledge  of  its  accompanying  geography. 
Events,  to  be  remembered,  must  be  associated  with  place. 
To  study  history  in  any  other  way  is  to  waste  time,  as  every 
successful  student  and  teacher  must  be  able  to  testify.  The 
numerous  maps  in  this  work  cover  all  the  geography  belong- 


Preface. 


ing  to  the  events  narrated  that  have  occurred  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  Whenever  any  place 
is  mentioned,  its  exact  location  should  at  once  be  ascertained. 
This,  like  all  the  other  books  published  by  the  writer,  is  a 
teaching  manual.  If  history  is  to  be  taught  in  our  schools, 
merely  reading  the  story  will  not  answer.  It  must  be  taught 
again  and  again  just  as  other  subjects  are  taught.  If  thi^ 
course  is  not  pursued  and  we  look  for  satisfactory  results, 
then  are  we  unreasonable  in  our  expectations. 

The  Summaries  in  this  book,  placed  at  the  close  of  the 
periods,  are  recommended  to  such  teachers  as  are  preparing 
classes  for  examination.  These  will  be  found,  in  most  cases, 
all-sufficient.  Afterward  it  will  be  a  labor  of  love  to  put 
flesh  upon  the  skeleton  and  inspire  it  with  life. 


Hints  for  Teaching  the  History. 

1.  "Give  out"  a  short  lesson,  a^  the  same  time  designating  a  map  to  be 
drawn  by  the  pupils,  on  paper  or  slate,  the  map  to  show,  among  other 
things,  the  location  of  the  important  places  mentioned  in  the  lesson. 
Ut3|p  Let  it  be  understood  that  no  lesson  is  thoroughly  acquired  by  a 
pupil  until  he  has  learned  liow  every  place  mentioned  in  it  is  located. 

2.  Let  the  lesson  be  read  by  the  class,  care  being  taken  to  have  all  the 
proper  names  correctly  pronounced.     Endeavor,  also,  to  give  interest  to 
the  lesson  by  enlarging  upon  the  facts,  throwing  in  historical  incidents, 
and  referring  to  authors. 

RECITATION. 

3.  Let  the  maps  be  examined  and  criticised.     In  this  duty  the  teacher 
may  be  aided   by  a  system  of  examinations  carried-  out  by  the  pupils 
themselves,  who' will  derive  benefit  in  many  respects  by  the  exercise. 

4.  Bring  out  the  facts  of  the  lesson  with  clearness,  particularly  the  rela 
tion  of  causes  to  results.     Use  outline  wall-maps,  and  question  freely  on 
the  geography.     Occasionally  have  the  maps  drawn  on  the  blackboard. 
d^ip  Permit  no  answer  to  pass  if  it  is  not  clear  that  the  pupil  is  ac 
quainted  with  the  location  of  the  places  referred  to  in  it. 

REVIEWS. 

5.  Review  by  topics.    Besides  the  oral  method,  the  composition  plan 
(see.  p.  49)  should  occasionally  be  used. 

6.  Dates.     Do  not  require  dates  too  freely, — the  month  and  the  day  of  the 
month  in  no  rase,  unless  there  is  a  special  reason  for  it.     Take  the  date 
of  an  important  event  as  a  turning-point ;  and  when  it  is  well  fixed  in 
the  mind,  arrange  on  the  one  side  the  train  of  eventg  as  causes,  and  on 
the  other  the  train  of  results.     (See  model,  p.  180.) 


SELECTIONS  AND  AUTHORS. 


The  Northmen's  Discoveries.     From  "History  of  the  Northmen,"  etc. 

Wheaton 15 

Henry  Wheaton. — This  eminent  scholar  and  statesman  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island  in  1785.  He  held  several  important  diplomatic  positions 
in  Europe,  and  while  residing  in  Denmark  published  his  "  History  of 
the  Northmen."  His  contributions  to  American  periodicals  were  numer 
ous  and  marked  by  great  ability;  but  his  fame  rests  mainly  upon  his 
"  Elements  of  International  Law "  and  his  "  History  of  the  Laws  of 
Nations."  The  latter  appeared  originally  in  French  at  Leipsic.  "  No 
one,  save  Washington,"  says  Allibone,  "has  done  more  to  make  the 
name  of  America  respected  by  scholars  and  honored  by  statesmen."  His 
death  occurred  in  1848. 

Landing  of  Columbus.     From  "  The  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 

Irving 21 

Washington  Irving,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  modern  authors, 
was  born  in  New  York  City  in  1783.  The  production  which  first  gave 
him  a  decided  reputation  was  the  famous  "  History  of  New  York,  by 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker,"  published  in  1809.  This  is  a  work  of  inimi 
table  humor,  and  was  read  with  the  greatest  delight  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic.  Sir  Walter  Scott  enthusiastically  admired  it.  The  "  Sketch 
Book"  was  published  in  London,  and  greatly  enhanced  the  author's 
reputation.  He  also  published  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus,"  "  The 
Alhambra,"  "  Bracebridge  Hall,"  "Life  of  Washington,"  and  many 
other  popular  works.  Irving's  style  is  remarkable  for  its  elegance  and 
copiousness  ;  while  the  purity  of  his  sentiments,  his  sympathy  with 
mankind,  his  geniality  and  kindliness,  his  innocent  and  playful  satire, 
mixed  with  the  pathetic,  make  his  writings  an  inexhaustible  fountain  of 
intellectual  enjoyment.  He  died  at  his  residence,  Sunnyside,  a  charm* 
ing  spot  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  November  28,  1859,  universally 
loved  and  esteemed  for  his  artlessness  and  benevolence  of  character, 
and  honored  not  only  for  his  genius,  but  for  the  virtues  by  which  it 
was  adorned. 

Keturn  of  Columbus  to  Spain.     From  "  The  History  of  the  Reign  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella."     Prescott 23 


viii  Selections  an$  Authors. 


William  H,  Prescott. — This  eminent  historian  was  born  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  in  1796,  and  was  the  grandson  of  Colonel  Prescott,  of  Revolu 
tionary  fame.  His  principal  works  are  the  "  History  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,"  "  The  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  "  The  Conquest  of  Peru,"  and  the 
"  History  of  the  Reign  of  Philip  II."  The  last-mentioned  work  he  did 
not  live  to  finish,  dying  in  1859.  These  various  productions  constitute 
a  splendid  contribution  to  English  literature.  The  materials  for  their 
composition  were  collected  with  the  most  laborious  research,  and  have 
been  arranged  with  very  great  judgment  and  skill,  while  their  style  is  a 
model  for  elegance  and  correctness.  Though  in  affluent  circumstances, 
and  affected  from  early  manhood  with  blindness,  Mr.  Prescott  labored 
in  his  literary  undertakings  with  indefatigable  industry,  and  accom 
plished  a  task  beyond  the  powers  of  most  men  in  the  enjoyment  of  every 
faculty.  His  high  moral  worth,  amiable  disposition,  and  geniality  of 
manners  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 

The  Indians.  From  "  The  History  of  the  United  States."  Ramsay. .  25 
David  Ramsay,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1749.  After  gradu 
ating  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  he  studied  medicine,  and  commenced 
practice  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  resided  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  for  several  years  (1782-5)  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  during  one  year  its  president.  His  death  was  caused  by 
a  pistol-shot  wound,  received  in  the  streets  of  Charleston,  in  1815.  In 
1785  he  published  his  "  History  of  the  Revolution  in  South  Carolina;" 
and  five  years  afterward  the  "  History  of  the  American  Revolution," 
which  was  received  with  universal  commendation.  His  "  Life  of  Wash 
ington"  appeared  in  1807,  and  the  "  History  of  South  Carolina"  in  1809. 
He  was  also  the  author  of  several  other  works.  As  a  historian  he  was 
diligent  in  research,  and  his  narrative  is  characterized  by  accuracy  and 
impartiality,  and  is  expressed  in  a  simple  and  elegant  style. 

The  Mound  Builders.      From   "The  Popular  History  of  the  United 

States. "    Bryant  and  Gay 27 

William  C.  Bryant,  though  pronounced  ' '  the  foremost  of  American 
poets,"  was  also  distinguished  as  a  prose  writer.  He  was  many  years 
the  editor  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post.  He  was  born  in  Massachu 
setts  in  1794.  His  death  occurred  in  New  York  City  in  1878.  He  was 
universally  esteemed  for  his  active  beneficence,  unbending  integrity,  and 
kindness  of  disposition.  (The  extract  is  probably  from  Gay's  peri.) 

Were  the  Indians  the  Mound  Builders?      From   "The  Pre-Historic 

Races  in  the  United  States."     Foster 29 

John  W.  Foster,  LL.D.,  an  eminent  geologist  and  archaeologist,  w$«3 


Selections  and  AutJiors.  ix 


born  in  Massachusetts  in  1815.  Besides  the  above  work,  lie  was  the 
author  of  the  "  Physical  Geography  of  the  Mississippi  Va]]ey."  His 
death  occurred  .in  1873. 

The  New  Lands  not  India.  From  "  The  Conquest  of  Peru."  Prescott.  30 

I)e  Soto's  Expedition.     From   "  The   Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New 

World."     Parkman 34 

Francis  Parkman,  a  native  of  Boston,  was  born  in  1823.  His  various 
histories,  "  Tiie  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,"  "The  Pioneers,  etc.,"  "The 
Jesuits  in  North  America,"  and  other  works,  "  exhibit  a  singular  combina 
tion  of  the  talents  of  the  historian  with  those  of  the  novelist."  They 
have  been  warmly  commended  by  critics  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
No  historical  course  of  reading  can  be  complete  that  excludes  these 
charming  volumes. 

Discovery  of  the  Mississippi.     From  "  The  Conquest  of  Florida."     T. 

Irving , 35 

Theodore  Irving,  LL.D.,  nephew  of  Washington  Irving,  was  born  in 
New  York  in  1809.  Besides  "The  Conquest,"  he  has  written  "  The 
Fountain  of  Waters,"  and  contributed  numerous  articles,  mostly  of  a 
devotional  character,  to  periodicals.  His  style  is  "  terse  and  graceful." 

Burial  of  De  Soto.  A  translation  from  the  "  Knight  of  Elvas,"  a  Spanish 

narrative.  Smith 36 

Buckingham  Smith  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1810.  He  published  a 

number  of  works,  most  of  which  were  translations  from  the  Spanish. 

"  Few  American  scholars  have  been  so  conversant  with  the  materials  of 

early  American  history  as  Mr.  Smith."     He  died  in  1871. 

Drake's  Voyage  Around  the  World.     From  "  The  History  of  Oregon 

and  California."     Robert  Greenhow 37 

(See  note,  page  198.) 

Marquette  on  the  Mississippi.  From  "  The  Discovery  and  Exploration 

of  the  Mississippi  River."  Shea 41 

John  D.  Gilmary  Shea,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  New  York  in  1824.  He  is 

the  author  of  a  number  of  works  of  great  merit,  but  is  best  known  for 

those  on  American  history. 

La  Salle  descends  the  Mississippi.     From  "  The  Discovery  of  the  Great 
West. "    Parkman 43 

Settlement  of  Jamestown.     From  "The   History  of  the  Colony  and 
Ancient  Dominion  of  Virginia."     Campbell 53 


xii  Selections  and  Authors. 


Benjamin  Trumbull,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1735.     He  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  both  as  a  chaplain  and  a  soldier.    Died  in  1820. 

Persecution  of  the  Quakers.  From  "  True  Stories."  Hawthorne...  75 
Nathaniel  Hawthorn,  "  for  years  one  of  the  greatest  modern  masters  of 
English  prose,"  was  born  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1804.  His  numer 
ous  writings  show  fine  culture  and  great  originality  of  genius.  "  The 
Scarlet  Letter,"  as  a  highly-wrought  fiction,  composed  with  the  most 
artistic  finrsh,  has  no  superior  in  the  language.  The  most  noted  of  his 
other  works  are  "  Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse,"  the  "  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables,"  "  Twice-told  Tales,"  and  the  "  Marble  Faun,"  all  of  which  are 
compositions  of  distinguished  merit.  He  also  wrote  many  educational 
works,  in  which  he  displayed  a  happy  facility  in  adapting  the  style  and 
treatment  to  the  capacity  of  young  minds.  His  death  occurred  in  1864. 

Storming  of  the  Narragansett  Fort.      From  "  The  History  of  New 
England."     Palfrey .  . 77 

Death  of  Philip.     From  ' '  The  Sketch  Book."    Irving 77 

Witchcraft  in  Europe.     From  "  Anecdotes  of  Early  Social  History." 

Everett 79 

Edward  Everett,  the  celebrated  orator  and  statesman,  was  born  in 
Massachusetts  in  1794,  and  died  in  1864.  His  speeches  were  remarkable 
for  their  elaborate  finish,  peculiar  elegance  of  style,  and  justness  of 
sentiment ;  while  his  delivery  was  exceedingly  dignified  and  graceful. 
Mr.  Everett  was  for  ten  years  a  member  of  Congress,  and  for  four  suc 
cessive  years  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  also  Secretary  of 
State,  and  Minister  to  the  Court  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Half-Moon  ascending  the  Hudson.    From  "  The  History  of  New 

York."    Brodhead 80 

John  R.  Brodhead  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1814  ;  was  Secretary  of 
Legation  at  the  Hague  in  1839,  and  subsequently  agent  of  the  State  of 
New  York  to  procure  historical  documents  in  Europe.  In  1846  he  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  Legation,  under  George  Bancroft,  at  the  Court  of 
England.  His  principal  literary  work  is  "The  History  of  the  State  of 
New  York" — a  performance  of  great  merit  and  research.  He  died  in 
1873. 

Commencement  of  Maryland  Colonization.    From  "  The  History  of  the 
United  States."     Bancroft 88 

The  Swedes  in  Delaware.    From  "  Aerelius's  History1  of  New  Sweden," 
translated  from  the  Swedish  by  W.  M.  Reynolds 92 


Selections  and  Authors.  xiii 


Penn's  Great  Treaty.  From  "  The  Life  of  William  Perm."  Janney.  94 
Samuel  M.  Janney,  a  philanthropist  and  Friend  (Quaker),  was  born  in 
Virginia  in  1801.  He  is  the  author  of  "  The  Country  School  House" 
(poem),  "Conversations  on  Religious  Subjects,"  "  Life  of  Penn,"  "Life 
of  Fox,"  "  History  of  the  Friends,"  and  other  works.  "  His  style  is  easy, 
flowing,  and  yet  sententious." 

The  Huguenots  in  Carolina.     From  "The  Pioneers  of  France  in   the 
New  World."    Parkman 96 

The  Iroqnois  or,  Five  Nations.    From  "  The  Jesuits  in  North  America." 
Parkman 102 

Washington's  Return  from  the  French  Forts.      From  "  The  Life  of 
Washington."     Irving 104 

Expulsion  of  the  Acadians.     From  "True  Stories."    Hawthorne. .  .105 

Capture  of  Quebec.  From  "The  Life  of  Washington."  Lossing..  .108 
Benson  J.  Lossing,  writer  and  artist,  chiefly  distinguished  for  his  efforts 
to  illustrate  and  popularize  the  history  of  the  United  States.  For  this 
purpose  his  "  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution"  and  his  "  Field-Book  of  the 
War  of  1812"  are  most  admirable  and  valuable  works.  Mr.  Lossing  is 
the  author  of  many  other  works  in  American  history  of  no  inconsiderable 
merit. 

Paul  Revere's  Ride.     From  an  oration  delivered  at  Concord,  April  19, 

1875.      Curtis 132 

George  William  Curtis,  "  author  and  orator,"  was  born  in  Rhode  Island 
in  1824.  His  principal  works  are  "Nile  Notes  of  a  Howadji,"  "The 
Howadji  in  Syria,"  "  Lotos  Eating,"  and  "  The  Potiphar  Papers,"  "open 
ing,"  in  this  last  work,  "  a  new  vein  of  satiric  fiction."  The  <l  great  ex 
tent  of  his  popularity  is  due.  to  his  papers  in  Harper's  Magazine."  His 
style  is  clear  and  terse. 

Lexington  and  Concord.     From  "The  History  of  the  United  States." 
Bancroft 133 

Battle  of  Bunker   Hill.      From  "  History  of    the  Siege  of    Boston." 

Frotldngham  135 

Kichard  Frothingham,  Jr.,  historian  and  journalist,  was  born  in  Massa 
chusetts  in  1812.  His  principal  works  are  the  "  History  of  Charlestown," 
"  Life  of  Joseph  Warren,"  "  Rise  of  the  Republic,"  and  the  "  Siege  of 
Boston."  Of  the  "  Siege"  Bancrolt  says  :  "  It  is  the  best  of  our  mono- 
graphs  that  I  have  seen."  He  d^ed  in  1880. 


xvi  Selections  and  Authors. 


larly  mentioned  "  Life  of  Joseph  Brant,  including  the  Border  Wars  of 
the  American  Revolution,"  "Life  and  Times  of  Red  Jacket,"  "Letters 
on  Freemasonry,"  and  "  Tales  and  Sketches."  In  personal  character 
he  was  genial  and  benevolent,  kind  and  considerate  to  all,  giving  his 
warm  and  earnest  support  to  every  religious  and  philanthropic  object. 

Marion.  Sumter,  .and  Pickens.     From  "  Memoirs,  etc."     Lee 16*) 

Henry  Lee  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1756.  He  was  known  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  war  as  "  Lighthorse  Harry,"  and  the  partisan  corps  of  which 
he  was  commander  was  known  as  "Lee's  Legion."  In  his  celebrated 
eulogy  of  Washington,  prepared  by  direction  of  Congress,  occurred  the 
words,  "First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  nn  1  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  coun 
trymen."  His  "Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Department"  were 
written  in  1809,  while  he  was  in  confinement  for  debt.  He  died  in  1818, 

Arrest  of  Andre.     From  "The  Life  of  Washington."     Irving..    ..170 

Surrender  of  Cornwallis.  From  "Military  Journal  of  the  Revolution." 

Thacher 175 

James  Thacher,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1754.  He  served 

as  surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  present  at  many  of  the 

principal  battles.     He  was  the  author  of  several  medical  works  of  great 

merit. 

Washington's  Farewell  Address  to  his  Officers.    Marshall 177 

The  Federalist,     From  the  Life  and  Times  of  Madison.     Rives 179 

William  C.  Kives  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1793  ;  died  in  1868.  He 
was  a  United  States  Senator,  Minister  to  France,  and  filled  other  impor 
tant  civil  positions.  He  was  the  author  of  "  Life  of  John  Hampden," 
"  Discourses  on  the  Uses  and  Importance  of  History,"  and  other  works. 

The  First  Political  Parties.  From  '  History  of  the  Hartford  Conven 
tion."  Dwight 179 

Theodore  Dwight,  an  able  journalist  and  brilliant  political  writer,  was 

born  in  Massachusetts  in  1764.     He  was  a  leader  of  the  Federal  party, 

and  the  secretary  of  the  Hartford  Convention.     He  wrote  "  The  Life  and 

Character  of  Thomas  Jefferson." 

Inauguration  of  Washington.   From  "  The  History  of  the  United  States." 

Hildreth 183 

Richard  Hildreth,  a  distinguished  writer  and  journalist.  His  chief 
work  is  a  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  which  is  especially  valuable 
for  its  accuracy  and  directness  of  statement,  its  dignified  but  unpre 
tending  style,  and  the  fullness  of  its  information  in  regard  to  the 


Selections  and  Authors.  xvii 


political  history  of  the  country.  "As  a  book  of  reference  it  still  remains 
as  the  best  in  our  catalogue  of  works  on  American  history."  Born  in 
Massachusetts  in  1807 ;  died  in  Florence,  Italy,  in  1865. 

John  Jay.     From  "  The  First  Century  of  the  Republic."     Whipple.  .186 
Edwin  P.  Whipple,  "one  of  our  most  brilliant  writers,"  was  born  in 
Massachusetts  in  1819.     He  is  the  author  of  "Essays  and  Reviews," 
"The  Literature  of  the  Age  of  Elizabeth,"  and  other  works. 

Invention    of    the    Cotton-gin.       From    "The    American    Conflict." 

Oreeley 187 

Horace  Greeley,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  journalists  of  this  coun 
try,  was  born  in  New  Hampshire,  in  1811,  and  commenced  life  as  a 
printer.  The  New  Tork  Tribune  was  commenced  by  him  in  1841. 
Mr.  Greeley's  style  is  vigorous  and  pungent,  and  his  writings  abound 
in  useful  information,  addressed  to  the  practical  common-sense  of  the 
reader.  His  most  extensive  work  is  the  "American  Conflict,"  in  which 
he  gives,  with  considerable  fullness,  the  events  of  that  great  struggle 
between  the  two  sections  of  the  country,  together  with  the  political  and 
social  causes  that  led  to  it.  He  died  in  1872.  (See  p.  299.) 

Migration  to  the  \Vesf.     Audubon ; 188 

Jdhn  James  Audubon,  "the  ornithologist,"  of  whom  Professor  Wilson 
said:  "He  is  the  greatest  artist  in  his  own  walk  that  ever  lived." 
"Audubon's  works,"  gays  Cuvier,  "are  the  most  splendid  monuments 
which  art  has  erected  in  honor  of  ornithology."  The  price  of  his  great 
work,  "  The  Birds  of  America,"  was  $1000.  Every  object  in  it  is  of  the 
size  of  life.  "Audubon  has  indisputable  claims  to  a  respectable  rank  as 
a  man  of  letters.  Some  of  his  written  pictures  of  birds,  so  graceful, 
clearly  defined,  and  brilliantly  colored,  are  scarcely  inferior  to  the  pro 
ductions  of  his  pencil."  He  was  born  in  Louisiana.  His  death  occurred 
in  1851. 

Washington's  Farewell  Address.      Washington 190 

Death   of  Washington.       From   "The   Life  of    Washington."     Mar-' 
shall.      (Chief-Justice  of  the  United  States) 192 

Character  of  Washington.     From    'Orations  and  Speeches  of  Edward 
Everett.     Everett" ; 193 

Fulton's    First    Steamboat.        From   a   discourse    delivered    in    1829. 

Story 201 

Joseph  Story,  LL.D.,  an  eminent  jurist,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in 
1779.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1801,  served  several  years  as  a 
member  of  the  legislature  of  his  native  State,  and  in  1811  was  appointed 
by  President  Modi^on  ncciociate  juptic^  o.f  tb,e  Supreme  Court,  which 


xviii  Selections  and  Authors. 


office  lie  continued  to  fill  till  his  death,  in  1845.  His  legal  treatises 
have  had  a  very  high  reputation  both  in  this  country  and  England. 
Lord  Brougham  pronounced  him  "  the  first  jurist  living."  His  miscel 
laneous  writings  are  numerous. 

Purchase  of  Louisiana.     From  an  address.    Everett 196 

How  the  Clermont  was  regarded.    From  "The  Life  of  Robert  Fulton." 
C.  D.  Golden 203 

Perry's  Victory.     From  "  The  Second  War  between  England  and  the 

United  States/'    Headley 209 

Joel  Tyler  Headley,  one  of  the  most  popular  writers  of  the  time,  was 
born  in  Delaware  County,  New  York,  in  1814.  His  principal  historical 
works  are  "Napoleon  and  his  Marshals,"  "Washington  and  his  Gene 
rals,"  "Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell,"  and  "History  of  the  Second  War 
between  England  and  the  United  States."  These  works  are  chiefly 
distinguished  for  their  melodramatic  descriptions  and  brilliancy  of 
style,  but  in  respect  to  accuracy  of  statement  have  been  sharply  criti 
cised.  Mr.  Headley  has  also  published  many  other  works  of  considerable 
literary  excellence.  •* 

The   Hartford  Convention.     From  "Sketches  of  American   Policy." 

Webster 215 

Noah  Webster,  LL.D.,  the  author  of  the  "American  Dictionary,"  was 
born  in  Connecticut  in  1758,  and  graduated  with  considerable  honor  aj 
Yale  College,  in  1778.  He  was  at  first  a  school-teacher  at  Goshen,  in 
New  York,  and  while  thus  engaged,  compiled  his  "  Spelling  Book," 
which  lie  published  at  Hartford  in  1783.  He  soon  afterward  published 
an  "English  Grammar."  The  spelling  book  has  probably  been  the 
most  widely  circulated  book  ever  published  in  this  country.  In  1784  he 
published  "  Sketches  of  American  Policy,"  a  political  work  of  consid 
erable  interest  and  merit.  In  1793  he  started  a  daily  paper  in  New 
York,  which  still  continues  to  be  published  as  the  Commercial  Advertiser. 
He  commenced  the  Dictionary  in  1807,  and  spent  twenty  years  in  its 
compilation.  He  died  in  1843. 

How  the  News  of  Peace  waa  received.    Goodrich 216 

Samuel  Griswold  Goodrich,  world- wide  known  under  the  assumed  name 
of  Peter  Parley,  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1793.  His  juvenile  books, 
more  than  one  hundred  in  number,  comprise  geographies,  histories, 
travels,  stories,  and  illustrations  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  "For  more 
than  twenty  years  his  delightful  compositions  have  instructed  and 
edified  children  in  both  hemispheres."  He  died  in  I860. 


Selections  and  Authors.  xix 


War  with  Algiers.     From  "The  History  of  the  United  States."    Hil- 
dretJi 216 

Treaty  with  Algiers.    From  "  History  of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States." 

Cooper 217 

James  Fennimore  Cooper,  the  distinguished  American  novelist,  was  born 
in  1789.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the  navy  as  a  midshipman, 
and  followed  the  life  of  a  sailor  for  six  years.  His  writings  are  very 
numerous,  including  the  "Leather  Stocking  Tales"  and  other  novels, 
and  the  "  History  of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States."  In  his  description 
of  the  sea  and  the  various  incidents  of  a  sailor's  life,  as  well  as  of  the 
Indians  and  their  savage  manners,  no  author  can  claim  any  comparison 
with  Cooper.  His  death  occurred  in  1851. 

Death  of  Adams  and  Jefferson.  From  "  Life  and  Public  Services  of 

John  Quincy  Adams."  Seward 223 

William  H.  Seward,  an  eminent  statesman,  was  born  in  New  York  in 

1801.    His  writings,  and  many  of  his  public  orations,  fill  several  volumes. 

While  holding  the  office  oi   Secretary  of  State  in  Lincoln's  cabinet,  he 

was  attacked  and  seriously  injured,  on  the  night  of  the  assassination  of 

Lincoln,  by  one  of  the  conspirators.     He  died  in  1872. 

The  Magnetic  Telegraph.     From  "Public  Men  and  Events."     Sar 
gent 236 

Nathan  Sargent,  a  political  writer  known  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
'.Oliver  Oldschool.     Born  in  Vermont  in  1794;  died  in  1875. 

American  Conquest  of  Mexico.  From  "  History  of  the  Mexican  War." 

Mansfield 241 

Edward  D.  Mansfield  was  born  in  1801,  and  graduated  at  the  United 

States  Military  Academy,  at  West  Point,  in  1819.     He  was  the  author  of 

several  works,  chief  among  which  are  the  "  Life  of  General  Scr^t"  and 

the  "  History  of  the  Mexican  War." 

Mining  Life  in  California.     From  "History  of  California."    Franklin 
Tuthill,  M.D 246 

The  Mormons.    From  "  History  of  the  United  States."    J.  H.  Patton.MS 
Treaty  with  Japan.    J.  H.  Patton 250 

Battle  of  the  Iron  Ships.     From  "  The  Lost  Cause."     Pollard 269 

Edward  A.  Pollard  was  formerly  editor  of  the  Richmond  Examiner. 
He  published  various  works  in  relation  to  the  Civil  War,  written  from 
a  Southern  standpoint.  In  1866  appeared  "The  Lost  Cause:  a  New 
Southern  History  of  the  W^ar  of  the  Confederates  ; "  and  subsequently 


xxii  Contents. 


Pennsylvania  and  Delaware. — William  Penn  (91) ;  The  Swedes  in 
Delaware  (92)  ;  Dutch  Claim — Conquest  by  Stuy  vesant  (93) ;  Delaware 
united  to  Pennsylvania  (94)  ;  Penn's  great  treaty  (94). 

North  and  South  Carolina.— The  Huguenots  in  Carolina  (96)  ;  Albe- 
marie  and  Clarendon  colonies  ;  The  Grand  Model ;  Division  of  the 
province  (98). 

Georgia. — Motives  for  the  settlement ;  Settlement  of  Savannah  (99)  • 
Wesley  and  Whitefield  (100). 

European  Wars  that  affected  the  Colonies. — King  William's,  Queen 
Anne's,  and  King  George's  (1.01) ;  The  Iroquois  (102).. 

The  French  and  Indian  War!— The  French  Claim  (102) ;  The  English 
Claim  ;  Washington's  Mission  (103),  his  expedition  (105)  *  Expulsion 
of  the  Acadians  ;  Braddock'S  Defeat  (106) ;  Capture  of  Quebec  (108). 

Condition  of  the  Colonies.— Population  (112) ;  Government ;  Industry 
(113) ;  Fisheries  ;  Printing  (115) ;  Education  and  Schools  (116)  ;.  Man 
ners  and  Customs  (117) ;  Money  (119).  Summary  by  Colonies  (120) : 
Getferal  Summary  (123) ;  Topical  Review  (124). 

SECTION  III.  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD. 

Causes  of  the  war  (125)  ;  The  Stamp  Act  (126) ;  Boston  Massacre 
(127)  ;  Boston  Tea  Party  (128) ;  First  Continental  Congress  (130) ;  Paul 
Revere's  Ride  (132) ;  Lexington  and  Concord  (133)  ;  Capture  of  Ticon- 
deroga  ;  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  (135)  ;  Necessity  of  the  War  ;  Washing 
ton  chosen  Commander-in-Chief  (139) ;  Expedition  against  Canada  (140) ; 
Death  of  Montgomery  (141) ;  The  British  evacuate  Boston  ;  Expedition 
against  Charleston  (142) ;  Birth  of  the  Nation  (144)  ;  Th6  fathers  of  the 
Declaration  (145) ;  Battle  of  Long  Island  ;  Retreat  of  Washington  (148) ; 
Execution  of  Hale  (149)  ;  Battle  of  Trenton  (150) ;  Battle  of  Princeton  ; 
Lafayette  joins  the  Americans  (152) ;  Expedition  against  Philadelphia 
(153)  ;  Battle  of  Germantown  (154)  ;  The  Army  at  Valley  Forge  ;  The 
Dark  Hour  at^yalley  Forge  (155)  ;  Burgoyne's  invasion  (156) ;  Arnold 
relieves  Fort  Schuyler  (157) ;  Battle  of  Bennington  ;  Foes  of  the  pa 
triots  (15$J;*  Surrender  of '-Burgoyne  (159) ;  Franklin  at  the  French 
Court  (1-60) ;  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia  (161) ;  Battle  of  Monmouth 
(162) ;  Massacre  of  Wyoming  (163) ;  Events  in  the  South  (164) ;  Storm 
ing  of  Stony  Point  ;  Paul  Jones's  victory  (165)  ;  -Loss  of  Charleston* 
(166) ;  Marion,  Sumter,  and  Pickens  ;  Battle  of  Camden  (167)  ;  Treason 
of  Arnold  (169);  Arrest  of  Andre  (170)  ;  Fate  of  Andre  (171)  ;  Battle  of 
the'Cowpens  (17£) ;  Cornwallis  pursues  Morgan  ;  Battles  of  Guilford 
Court  House  and  Eutaw  Springs  (173) ;  Arnold's  expedition  against 
Virginia  ;  Siege  of  Yorktown  (174)  ;  Surrender  of  Cornwallis  (175)  ; 
Condition  of  the  country  (176)  ;  Washington's  farewell  to  his  officers; 
Resigns  his  command  (177);  Adoptionjof  the  Constitution  (178) ;  The 


Contents.  xxiii 


Federalist  ;   -First  political  parties  (179) ;     Summary  (180) ;    Topical 
•Review  (181). 

ECTION  IV.  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  PERIOD, 

Washington's  Administration. — His  inauguration  (183) ;  First  Meas 
ures  ;  Admission  of  Vermont  (184)  ;  Indian  war  ;  Foreign  affairs  (185) ; 
John  Jay  (186)  ;  Invention  of  the  cotton-gin  (187)  ;  Migration  to  the 
West  (188) ;  Admission  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  ;  Washington's 
Farewell  Address  (190). 

John  Adams's  Administration. — His  inauguration  (191)  ;  Hostilities  of 
France  ;  Death  of  Washington  (192) ;  Character  of  Washington  (193). 

Jefferson's  A'dministration. — His  inauguration  ;  Admission  of  Ohio 
(195) ;  Purchase  of  Louisiana  (196)  ;  War  with  the  Barbary  States  (198) ; 
Exploit  of  Decatur(  199);  Death  of  Hamilton  (200);  Trial  of  Burr; 
Fulton's  first  steamboat  (201);"  How  the  Clermont  was  regarded; 
British  aggressions  (203);  The  embargo  (205). 

Madison's  Administration. — War  declared  against  Great  Britain  ; 
Hull's  invasion  of  Canada;  Victories  on  the  ocean  (206) ;  Captufe  of 
the  Querriere  (207)  ;  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship !"  (208) ;  Perry's  victory 
(209)  ;  Harrison's  victory  (211)  ;  Brown's  invasion  of  Canada  (212) ; 
Plattsburg  and  Lake  Champlain  (213) ;  Attack  on  Baltimore  (213)  ; 
New  Orleans  saved  (214) ;  Hartford  Convention  (215) ;  End  of  the  war  ; 
How  the  news  was  received  ;  War  with  Algiers  (216) ;  Admission  of 
Louisiana  and  Indiana  (218). 

Monroe's  Administration. — The  Seminole  war  and  Florida  (219)  ; 
Admission  of  Mississippi,  Illinois,  Alabama,  and  Maine ;  The  Missouri 
Compromise  (220) ;  Lafayette's  visit  (221). 

John  Quincy  Adams's  Administration. —  The  10th  national  election 
(222);  Death  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  (223),.  The  tariff 
(224) ;  Internal  improvements  (225) ;  Canals  (226). 

Jackson's  Administration — The  llth  national  election  (226) ;  Rotation 
in  office  ;  Bank  of  the  Uruted  States  (22?) ;  Nullification4)^) ;  Admis 
sion  of  Arkansas  and  Michigan  (229). 

Van  Buren's  Administration. — The-  13th  national  election  (230) ; 
Panic  of  1$37 ;  Slavery  agitation  (231) ;  Railroads  ;  Steam  navigation 
(233). 

Harrison  and  Tyler's  Administrations. — The  14th  national  election 
(233)  ;  Death  of  Harrison  (235) ;  Annexation  of  Texas ;  The  magnetic 
telegraph  (236). 

Folk's  Administration. — The  15th  national  election  (237)  ;  War  with 
Mexico  ;  Taylor's  campaign  (238)  ;  Conquest  of  New  Mexico  and  Cali 
fornia  (239) ;  Scott's  campaign  (240)  ;  American  conquest  of  Mexico 
(241);  Treaty  of  peace  (242);  Discovery  of  gold  in  Calif ornia'  (243)  ; 
Admission  of  Florida,  Texas,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin  (244). 


xx  iv  Contents. 


Taylor's  Administration. — The  IGtli  national  election  (244);  Mining 
life  in  California  (240)  ;  Slavery  agitation  revived  (247). 

Fillmore's  Administration.— The  Compromise  of  1850  (247)  ;  The 
Mormons  (248). 

Pierce's  Administration. — Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  (249) ; 
Civil  war  in  Kansas  ;  Treaty  with  Japan  (250).  Summary  (251);  Topi 
cal  review  (252). 

Buchanan's  Administration. — The  18th  National  Election ;  John 
Brown's  raid  (253) ;  Condition  of  the  country  in  1860  (254) ;  Secession 
(255);  Occupation  of  Fort  Sumter  ;  the  Southern  Confederacy  (256)  ; 
Admission  of  Minnesota,  Oregon,  and  Kansas  (257.) 

Lincoln's  Administration. — His  inauguration  ;  Fall  of  Fort  Sumter 
(258) ;  Battle  of  Bull  Run  (261) ;  The  war  in  Missouri  (262) ;  Naval  op 
erations  (2G3)  ;  Confederate  privateers  ;  The  Trent  affair  (264) ;  Union 
successes  (265) ;  Battle  of  Shiloh  ;  Taking  of  New  Orleans  (266) ;  At 
tack  of  the  Virginia  (268) ;  Battle  of  the  iron  ships  (269)  ;  Peninsula 
campaign  (270) ;  Lee's  first  invasion  of  the  North  (272) ;  Burnside's 
campaign  ;  Confederate  money  (274) ;  Misapplication  of  means  ;  Eman 
cipation  ;  Hooker's  campaign  (276);  Lee's  second  invasion  ;  Battle  of 
Gettysburg  (277) ;  Obligation  to  the  patriot  dead  (f*78) ;  Organizations 
of  mercy  (279) ;  The  Mississippi  opened  (280) ;  Draft  riot  in  New  York 
(281);  The  war  in  Tennessee  and  Georgia  (282);  West  Virginia  and 
Nevada  (283) ;  Red  river  expedition  (284) ;  Sherman's  campaign  (285) ; 
Battle  of  Nashville  ;  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  (286) ;  Grant's  cam 
paign  in  Virginia  (287) ;  The  Shenandoah  valley  (288)  ;  Achievements 
of  the  navy  (289) ;  Sherman's  campaign  of  1865  (290)  ;  Evacuation  of 
Richmond  (291) ;  Surrender  of  Lee  and  Johnston ;  Assassination  of 
Lincoln  (293) ;  Cost  of  the  war  (294) ;  Miracles  of  the  war  (295). 

Johnson's  Administration. — Lincoln's  funeral  (295)  ;  Reconstruction 
(296)  ;  Johnson's  impeachment  (296) ;  Nebraska  and  Alaska  (297). 

Grant's  Administration. — The  Alabama  Claims  (298) ;  The  nation's 
centennial ;  Admission  of  Colorado  ;  The  century  of  progress  (300). 
Summary  (305) ;  Topical  review  (306). 

Hayes's  Administration. — His  inauguration  ;  Important  events  (308). 

Acquisition  of  Territory 310 

The  States,  origin  of  their  names  and  their  pet  names 311 

Table  of  the  Presidents  and  Settlement  of  the  States 319 


APPENDIX. 

Declaration  of  Independence 1 

Constitution  of  the  United  States 5 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

SECTION     I. 


DISCOVERIES    AND    EXPLORATIONS. 

1.  WHO  first  discovered  America  ?     This  question  lias  been 
discussed  by  many  able  writers,  but  no  one  thus  far  has  so 
answered  it  as  to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  all  persons. 
It  has  been  claimed  by  some  of  these  writers  that 
hundreds  of  years  before  the  time  of  Columbus,    Discovery  of 
navigators  from  countries  on  the  east  and  north 

of  the  Mediterranean  sea  sailed  to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and 
then  were  driven  by  tempests  across  the  ocean  to  the  continent 
beyond.  Other  writers  have  contended  that  the  honor  of  the 
discovery  belongs  to  Wales.  Again,  we  have  the  tradition  of 
Irishmen  having  found  a  beautiful  country  far  to  the  west  of 
their  island,  in  which  they  lived  for  a  long  time.  These  are 
not  the  only  claims  that  have  been  put  forth ;  but,  among 
them  all,  that  which  has  the  best  evidence  to  sustain  it  is  in  be 
half  of  the  people  called  Scan-di-na'-vi-ans,  who  occupied  the 
region  comprising  the  countries  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark.  They  were  also  called  Northmen  or  Norsemen. 

2.  "  The  restless  activity  and  adventurous  spirit  of  the  Scan 
dinavians  were  not  confined  to  the  Baltic  sea.     They  boldly 
roamed  over  the  great  northern  and  western  oceans,  without 
chart  or  compass,  in  quest  of  adventures  and  plun 
der,  or  to  find  out  new  lands  where  they  might    Northmen's 
form  settlements  more  or  less  permanent.    Their 
navigators  discovered  many  islands  north  of  Scotland,     At 
a  very  early  period,  a  Norwegian  sea-rover  was  driven  by  a 
storm  quite  to  the  Arctic  Circle,  until  he  descried  a  large 


16  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  100'i 

country  which,  from  its  aspect,  he  called  Snoe'-land,  or  the 
land  of  snow,  but  which  has  been  since  more  appropriately 
named  Iceland  (861). 

3.  About  a  century  after,  Torwald,  a  jarl  (petty  king)  of 
Norway,  who  had  been  exiled  from  his  native  land  for  having 
slain  his  enemy,  retired  to  that  island  with  his  son  Er'-ik,  sur- 
named  Eandi,  or  the  Eed.      After  the  death  of  his  father, 
Erik  was   compelled  to  leave  Iceland  for  the  same   reason 
which  had  banished  Torwald  from  Norway.     Seeking  a  new 
asylum,   he  took  ship,  and  directed  his  course  towards  the 
south-west.     He  found  a  small  island  in  a  strait,  and  passed 
the  winter  there.     In  the  spring  he  explored  the  main-land, 
and,  finding  it  covered  with  a  delightful  verdure,  he  called  it 
Greenland. 

4.  There  was  formerly,  say  the  ancient  sagas,  a  man  of  Nor 
way  who  navigated  from  one  country  to  another  with  his  son 
Bjarne  (byar'-ne),  and  generally  spent  the  winters  in  Norway. 
It  happened,  once  on  a  time,  that  they  were  separated  from 
each  other,  and  Bjarne  sought  his  father  in  Norway,  but  not 
finding  him  there  he  learnt  that  be  was  gone  to  the  newly- 
discovered  country  of  Greenland.      Bjarne  resolved  to  seek 
and  find  out  his  father  wherever  he  might  be,  and  for  this 
purpose  set  sail  for  Greenland,  directing  himself  by  the  obser 
vation  of  the  stars  and  by  what  others  had  told  him  of  the 
situation  of  the  land. 

5.  The  three  first  days  he  was  carried  to  the  west,  but  after 
wards  the  wind,  changing,  blew  with  violence  from  the  north, 
and   drove   him  southwardly  for   several   days.     He   at   last 
descried  a  flat  country  covered  with  wood,  the  appearance  of 
which  was  so  different  from  that  of  Greenland,  as  it  had  been 
described  to  him,  that  he  would  not  go  on  shore,  but  made 
sail  to  the  north-west.     In  this  course  he  saw  an  island  at  a 
distance,    but   continued   his   voyage,   and   arrived  safely  in 
Greenland,  where  he  found  his  father  (1001). 

6.  In  the  following  summer,  Bjarne  made  another  voyage 
to  Norway,  where  he  was  hospitably  received  by  Erik,  a  dig- 


1002  The  Northmen!  s  Discoveries.  17 

tinguished  jarl  of  that  country.  The  jarl,  to  whom  he  related 
his  adventures,  reproached  him  for  not  having  explored  the 
new  land  towards  which  he  had  been  accidentally  driven. 
Bjarne  having  returned  to  his  father  in  Greenland,  there  was 
much  talk  among  the  settlers  of  pursuing  his  discovery.  The 
restless,  adventurous  spirit  of  Leif  (life),  son  of  Erik  the  Ked, 
was  excited  to  emulate  the  fame  his  father  had  acquired  by 
the  discovery  of  Greenland.  He  purchased  Bjarne's  ship, 
and  manned  it  with  thirty-five  men.  Leif  then  requested  his 
father  to  become  the  commander  of  the  enterprise.  Erik  at 
first  declined,  on  account  of  the  increasing  infirmities  of  his 
old  age.  He  was,  however,  at  last  persuaded  by  his  son  to 
embark  ;  but  as  he  was  going  down  to  the  vessel  on  horseback 
his  horse  stumbled,  which  Erik  received  as  an  evil  omen  for 
his  undertaking.  '  I  do  not  believe, '  said  he,  '  that  it  is 
given  to  me  to  discover  any  more  lands,  and  here  will  I 
abide.'  Erik  returned  to  his  house,  and  Leif  set  sail  with 
his  thirty-five  companions,  among  whom  was  one  of  his 
father's  servants,  a  native  of  the  south-countries,  named 
Tyrker  (tur'-ker\  probably  a  German. 

7.  They  first  discovered  what  they  supposed  to  be  one  of 
the  countries  seen  by  Bjarne,  the  coast  of  which  was  a  flat, 
stony  land,  and  the  background  crowned  with  lofty  moun 
tains  covered  with  ice  and  snow.      Pursuing   their  voyage 
further  south,  they  now  came  to  another  coast,  also  flat,  cov 
ered  with  thick  wood,  and  the  shores  of  white  sand  gradually 
sloping  toward  the  sea.     Here  they  cast  anchor  and  made  a 
landing.     Pursuing  their  voyage  with  a  north-east  wind  for 
two  days  and  nights,  they  discovered  a  third  land,  the  north  - 
•ern  coast  of  which  was  sheltered  by  an  island.     Here  they 
again  landed,  and   found  a  country,  not   mountainous,  but 
undulating  and  woody,  and  abounding  with  fruits  and  ber 
ries  delicious  to  the  taste. 

8.  From  thence  they  re-embarked  and  made  sail  to  the 
west  to  seek  a  harbor,  which  they  at  last  found  at  the  mouth 
of  a  river,  where  they  were  swept  by  the  tide  into  the  lake 


18 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


1003 


from  which  the  river  issued.  They  cast  anchor,  and  pitched 
their  tents  at  this  spot,  and  found  the  river  and  lake  full  of 
the  largest  salmon  they  had  ever  seen.  Finding  the  climate 
very  temperate  and  the  soil  fruitful  in  pasturage,  they  deter 
mined  to  build  huts  and  pass  the  winter  here." 

9.  The  spot  selected,  it  is  supposed,  was  in  the  latitude  of 
Boston.      "  It  happened  one  day,   soon   after  their  arrival, 
that  Tyrker,  the  German,  was  missing,   and  as  Leif  set  a 
great  value  upon  the  youth  on  account  of  his  skill  in  various 
arts,  he  sent  his  followers  in  search  of  him  in  every  direction. 
When  they  at  last  found  him  he  began  to  speak  to  them  in 
the  German  language,  with  many  extravagant  signs  of  joy. 
They  at  last  made  out  to  understand    that   he  had  found 
vines  bearing  wild  grapes.     He  led  them  to  the  spot,  and 
they  brought  to  their  chief  a  quantity  of  the  grapes  which 
they  had  gathered.      Leif,  thereupon,  named   the    country 
Vinland." 

10.  The  Northmen  made    settlements   in    Greenland,    as 
they  had  previously  done  in  Iceland  ;  but  these,  after  a  period 
of   more   than    a   hundred   years, 

perished  ;  and  when  Columbus  set 

Christopher  Silil  on  nis  eventful  voy- 
Columbus. 


entirely  forgotten.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  Columbus  had  no  knowl 
edge  then,  or  afterward,  of  a  sec 
ond  continent,  nor  is  there  any 
evidence  that  he  even  supposed 
there  was  a  second.  His  object 
was  to  find  a  short  way  to  the  rich 
country  in  the  south-eastern  part 
of  Asia,  and  the  islands  near  to  it,  called  India,  or  the  Indies. 
11.  A  Venetian  traveler,  named  Marco  Polo,1  as  well  as  other 

1  The  first  and  most  extensive  traveller  among  the  Eastern  nations  was 
Marco  Polo,  who  passed  seventeen  years  in  the  service  of  the  Khan  of 
Tartaiy,  during  which  he  visited  the  chief  countries  and  cities  of  Eastern 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


Idea  and  Plan  of  Columbus.  19 

travelers,  had  been  to  India,  and  brought  back  to  Europe  ex 
citing  accounts  of  the  riches  to  be  found  there.  A  consid 
erable  commerce  was  consequently  carried  on  by  india- 
Venice  and  other  cities  of  Italy  with  that  coun-  tfte  route  to  it. 
try ;  but  the  journey  was  long  and  dangerous.  Vessels 
sailed  through  the  Mediterranean  to  the  north-east  part  of 
Africa,  where  they  were  unladen,  and  the  goods  were  carried 
on  the  backs  of  camels  across  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  and  thence 
again  by  ship  down  the  Ked  sea  and  through  the  Indian 
ocean  to  India.  Sometimes  the  goods  were  carried  overland 
through  Asia.  Desiring  to  share  in  this  profitable  trade,  the 
people  of  Portugal,  encouraged  and  aided  by  their  king,  en 
deavored  to  find  a  passage  to  India — one  entirely  by  water — 
by  sailing  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  and  around  its 
southern  point.1 

12.  The  plan  formed  by  Columbus  was  very  different. 
Bejieving  the  earth  to  be  round,  he  concluded  that  the  short 
est  way  to  India  was  across  the  Atlantic  ocean.  It  is  plain 
that  while  he  had  a  correct  idea  as  to  the  shape  Idea  and 
of  the  earth,  he  was  mistaken  as  to  its  size.  P^n  of  Columbus' 
Various  discouragements,  too,  beset  him,  but  nothing  could 
shake  his  determination.  Being  too  poor  to  fit  out  an  expe 
dition  at  his  own  expense  he  applied  for  aid,  it  is  asserted, 
to  his  native  country,  Genoa  (jen'-o-ali]  ;  then  to  Portugal. 
In  both  cases  he  was  unsuccessful.  He  then  turned  to  Spain, 


Asia,  among  them  Japan,  the  existence  of  which  was  not  previously 
known.  He  returned  to  Venice  in  1295  ;  and  subsequently  a  very  inter 
esting  account  of  his  travels  was  published,  which  had  a  wonderful  effect 
in  encouraging  geographical  research. 

1  "  The  crown  of  Portugal  was  constant  in  its  efforts,  through  the  fif 
teenth  century,  to  find  a  passage  round  the  southern  point  of  Africa  into 
the  Indian  Ocean,  though  so  timid  was  the  navigation  that  every  fresh 
headland  became  a  formidable  barrier  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  latter  part 
of  the  century  that  the  adventurous  Diaz  passed  quite  round  the  Stormy 
cape,  as  he  termed  it,  but  which  John  the  Second  (King  of  Portugal), 
with  happier  augury,  called  the  cape  of  Good  Hope.  But  before  Vasco 
de  Gama  had  availed  himself  of  this  discovery  to  spread  his  sails  in  the 
Indian  seas  (1497),  Spain  entered  on  her  glorious  career,  and  sent  Colum 
bus  across  the  western  waters." — frescott't  Conquest  of  Peru.. 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


and  during  seven  years,  while  his  theory  and  offer  were  be 
fore  the  Spanish  court,  he  implored  and  waited,  until  at  last, 
when,  in  despair,  he  was  in  the  act  of  leaving  that  country 
for  France,  he  was  recalled. 


SPANISH    CARAVAL    IN    WHICH    COLUMBUS    DISCOVERED    AMERICA. 

(From  a  drawing  attributed  to  Columbus,  and  placed  in  a  volume  of  his  letters  pub 
lished  in  1494.) 

13.  Queen  Isabella  had  become  deeply  interested  in  his 
plan,  and,  "  with  an  enthusiasm  worthy  of  herself/'  had 
offered  to  "  pledge"  her  "  jewels  to  raise  the  necessary  funds," 


1492  Landing  of  Columbus  in  the  New  World.      21 

There  was,  however,  no  need  of  the  sacrifice.  Money  was 
advanced  from  the  public  treasury,,  three  small  vessels  were 
fitted  out,  and  with  this  miniature  fleet  Columbus  set  sail 
from  Spain,  on  Friday  morning,  August  the  3d,  1492,  and, 
after  a  voyage  of  ten  weeks — the  most  famous  that  ever  was 
made — discovered  one  of  the  Bahama  islands.1 

14-.  "  It  was  on  Friday  morning,  the  12th  of  October,  that 
Columbus  beheld  the  New  World.  As  the  day  dawned,  he 
saw  before  him  a  level  island,  several  leagues  in  extent,  and 
covered  with  trees  like  a  continued  orchard. 
Though  apparently  uncultivated,  it  was  populous,  of 
for  the  inhabitants  were  seen  issuing  from,  all  New  World, 
parts  of  the  woods,  and  running  to  the  shore.  They  were  per 
fectly  naked,  and,  as  they  stood  gazing  at  the  ships,  appeared 
by  their  attitudes  and  gestures  to  be  lost  in  astonishment. 

15.  Columbus  made  signal  for  the  ships  to  cast  anchor, 
and  the  boats  to  be  manned  and  armed.  He  entered  his  own 
boat,  richly  attired  in  scarlet,  and  holding  the  royal  standard  ; 
whilst  the  commanders  of  the  other  vessels  put  off  in  com 
pany  in  their  boats,  each  with  a  banner  of  the  enterprise 
emblazoned  with  a  green  cross,  having  on  either  side  the  let 
ters  F.  and  Y.,  the  initials  of  the  Castilian2  monarchs,  Fer 
nando  (Ferdinand)  and  Ysabel  (Isabella),  surmounted  by 
crowns.  As  he  approached  the  shore,  Columbus,  who  was 
disposed  for  all  kinds  of  agreeable  impressions,  was  delighted 
with  the  purity  and  suavity  of  the  atmosphere,  the  crystal 
transparency  of  the  sea,  and  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  the 
vegetation.  He  beheld,  also,  fruits  of  unknown  kinds  upon 
the  trees  which  overhung  the  shores. 


1  "  The  island  where  Columbus  had  thus  set  his  foot  was  called  by 
the  natives  Guanahani  (gwah-nah-hah' -ne).     It  still  retains  the  name  of 
San  Salvador,  which  he  gave  to  it,  though  called  by  the  English  Cat 
island." — Irving. 

2  Castile  (kas-teel'}  was  an  ancient  kingdom  or  state  of  Spain.     "  When 
the  various  states  were  consolidated  into  one  monarchy  (1479),  the  capi 
tal  of  Castile  became  the  capital  of  the  new  empire,  and  her  language 
tlje  language  of  the  court  and  of  literature." — Prescott, 


22  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  149L 

16.  On   landing,  he   threw   himself    on   his  knees,  kissed 
the  earth,  and  returned  thanks  to  God  with  tears  of  joy.     His 
example  was  followed  by  the  rest,  whose  hearts,  indeed,  over 
flowed  with  the  same  feelings  of  gratitude.     Columbus  then 
rising,   drew   his  sword,  displayed  the  royal  standard,   and 
assembling  round  him  all  who  had  landed,  took  solemn  pos 
session   in  the  name  of  the  Oastilian  sovereigns,  giving  the 
island  the  name  of  San  Salvador.     Having  complied  with 
the  requisite  forms  and  ceremonies,  he  called  upon  all  present 
to  take  the  oath  of  obedience  to  him  as  admiral  and  viceroy, 
representing  the  persons  of  the  sovereigns. 

17.  The  feelings  of  the  crew  now  burst  forth  in  the  most 
extravagant  transports.    They  had  recently  considered  them 
selves  devoted    men  hurrying  forward  to  destruction  ;  they 
now  looked  upon  themselves  as  favorites  of  fortune,  and  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  most  unbounded  joy.     They  thronged 
around  the  admiral  with  overflowing  zeal,  some  embracing 
him,  others  kissing  his  hands.     Those  who  had  been  most 
mutinous  and  turbulent    during  the  voyage  were  now  most 
devoted  and  enthusiastic.     Some  begged  favors  of  him  as  if  he 
had  already  wealth  and  honors  in  his  gift.     Many  abject  spir 
its,  who  had  outraged  him  by  their  insolence,  now  crouched 
at  his  feet,  begging  pardon  for  all  the  trouble  they  had  caused 
him,  and  promising  the  blindest  obedience  for  the  future. " 

18.  Leaving  San  Salvador,  Columbus  soon  discovered  other 
islands,  the   largest  being  Cuba  and   His-pan-i-o-la   (Little 

Spain). '     As  he  supposed  that  all  these  were  out- 
discoverfes of  lying  islands  of  India,  he  called  the  natives  In 
dians.     "The  islanders  were  friendly  and  gen 
tle,"  says  Irving,  "  and  treated  the  Spaniards  with  kindness." 

19.  Leaving  a  sm'all  colony  at  Hispaniola,  "in  the  month 
of  January,  1493,  Columbus  embarked  for  Spain.     One  of  his 
vessels  had  previously  foundered,  and  another  had  deserted 


1  Hispaniola  was  afterwards  called  San  Domingo.     The  name  Hayti 
(hay'-te)  was  given  to  it  after  the  French  were  expelled,  in  1808. 


1493  Return  of  Columbus  to  Spain.  23 

him  ;  so  that  he  was  left  alone  to  retrace  his  steps  across  the 
Atlantic.    After  a  most  tempestuous  voyage,  he  was  compelled 
to  take  shelter  in  the  Tagus,  sorely  against  his  in-      Eeturn 
clination.     He    experienced,    however,    the    most  of  Columbus 
honorable  reception  from  the  Portuguese  monarch, 
John  the  Second,  who  did  ample  justice  to  the  great  qualities 
of  Columbus,  although  he  had  failed  to  profit  by  them.    After 
a   brief  delay  the  admiral  (Columbus)  resumed  his  voyage, 
and  about  noon  on  the  15th  of  March  entered  the  harbor  of 
Palos  (pati-los],  being  exactly  seven  months  and  eleven  days 
since  his  departure  from  that  port. 

20.  Great  was   the  agitation  in  the  little  community  of 
Palos  as  they  beheld  the  well-known  vessel  of  the  admiral  re- 
entering  the  harbor.  Their  desponding  imaginations  had  long 
since  consigned  him  to  a  watery  grave.     Most  of  them  had 
relatives  or  friends  on  board.     They  thronged  immediately 
to  the  shore  to  assure  themselves  with  their  own  eyes  of  the 
truth  of  their  return.     When  they  beheld  their  faces  once 
more,  and  saw  them  accompanied  by  the  numerous  evidences 
which  they  brought  back  of  the  success  of  the  expedition, 
they   burst   forth   in   acclamations   of   joy  and   gratulation. 
They  awaited  the  landing  of    Columbus,   when   the  whole 
population  of  the  place  accompanied  him  and  his  crew  to  the 
principal  church,  where  solemn  thanksgivings  were  offered 
up  for  their  return  ;  while  every  bell  in  the  village  sent  forth 
a  joyous  peal  in  honor  of  the  glorious  event. 

21.  The  admiral  was  too  desirous  of  presenting  himself 
before  the  sovereigns  to  protract  his  stay  long  at  Palos.     He 
took  with  him  on  his  journey  specimens  of  the  products  of 
the  newly-discovered  regions.     He  was  accompanied  by  sev 
eral  of  the  native  islanders,  arrayed  in  their  simple  barbaric 
costume,  and  decorated,  as  he  passed  through  the  principal 
cities,  with  collars,  bracelets,  and  other  ornaments  of  gold, 
rudely  fashioned.     He  exhibited  also  considerable  quantities 
of   the  same  metal  in  dust  or  in  crude  masses,   numerous 
vegetable  exotics  possessed  of  aromatic  virtue,  and  several 


24  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1493 

• 

kinds  of  quadrupeds  unknown  in  Europe,  and  birds  whose 
various  gaudy  plumage  gave  a  brilliant  effect  to  the  pageant. 
The  admiral's  progress  through  the  country  was  everywhere 
impeded  by  the  multitudes  thronging  forth  to  gaze  at  the  ex 
traordinary  spectacle,  and  the  more  extraordinary  man,  who, 
in  the  emphatic  language  of  that  time,  which  has  now  lost 
its  force  from  its  familiarity,  first  revealed  the  existence  of  a 
'New  World.'  As  he  passed  through  the  busy,  populous 
city  of  Seville  (sev'-il),  every  window,  balcony,  and  house 
top  which  could  afford  a  glimpse  of  him  is  described  to  have 
been  crowded  with  spectators. 

22.  It  was  the  middle  of  April  before  Columbus  reached 
Bar-ce-lo'-na.    The  nobility  and  cavaliers  in  attendance  on  the 
court,  together  with  the  authorities  of  the  city,  came  to  the 
gates  to  receive  him  and  escort  him  to  the  royal  presence. 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were  seated,  with  their  son,  Prince 
John,  under  a  superb  canopy  of  state  awaiting  his  arrival. 
On  his  approach  they  rose   from  their  seats,  and,  extending 
their  hands  to  him  to  salute,  caused  him  to  be  seated  before 
them.     These  were   unprecedented  marks  of   condescension 
to  a  person  of  Columbus' s  rank  in  the  haughty  and  cere 
monious  court  of  Castile. 

23.  It  was  indeed  the  proudest  moment  in  the  life  of  Co 
lumbus.     He  had  fully  established  the  truth  of  his  long-con 
tested  theory,  in  the  face  of  argument,  sophistry,  sneer,  skep 
ticism,  and  contempt.     He  had  achieved  this,  not  by  chance, 
but  by  calculation,  supported  through  the  most  adverse  cir 
cumstances  by  consummate  conduct.     The  honors  paid  him. 
which  had  hitherto  been  reserved  only  for  rank,  or  fortune, 
or  military  success,  purchased  by  the  blood  and  tears  of  thou 
sands,  were  in  his  case  a  homage  to  intellectual  power  success 
fully  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  noblest  interests  of  humanity."1 


1  Columbus  made  three  other  voyages  to  the  new  world,  in  the  first  of 
which,  as  well  as  in  the  one  described  above,  his  discoveries  were  con 
fined  to  the  islands  between  North  and  South  America.  In  his  third 
voyage,  made  in  1498,  he  discovered  the  mainland  at  the  mouth  of  the 


The  Indians.  25 


24.  "  The  continent  of  North  America  was  then  one  con 
tinued  forest.     There  were  no  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  or 
tame  beasts  of  any  kind  ;  but  a  plenty  of  deer,  moose,  bears, 

elks,  buffaloes,  and  a  variety  of  other  wild  ani- 

mi  L-  ^        j.1       The  Indians, 

mals.     There  was  no  domestic  poultry  ;  but  the 

woods  were  full  of  turkeys,  partridges,  pigeons,  and  other 
birds.  Wild-geese,  ducks,  teal,  and  other  water-fowl  abounded 
in  the  bays,  creeks,  rivers,  and  ponds.  There  were  no  gar 
dens,  orchards,  public  roads,  meadows,  or  cultivated  fields  ; 
but__the  Indjajis_jLQ  often  burned  tiie_jffii^iis--thai^j;h^Y^i)Jlld 

advantageously  plant  their  patches  of  corn. They  were  clothed 

with  the  skins. of  wild,  beasts.  Their  houses  were  generally 
made  of  small  young  trees  bent  and  twisted  together,  and  so 
curiously.  cayxired-with.jn_ats.  or  bark  as  to  be  tolerably  dry  and 
warm. 

25.  The  Indians  made  their  fire  in  the  centre  of  the  house, 
which  had  an  opening  at  the  top  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke. 
Their  food  was  coarse  and  simple,  without, any  kind  .of  sea 
soning.     They  had  neither  spice,  salt,  bread,,  butter,  cheese, 
noTmiTk.    Their  drink  was  water.    They  fed  on  the  flesh  and 
en.trail&,of  moose,  deer,  bears,  beasts,  and  birds  of  all  kinds  ; 
on  fisli,  eels,  and  creeping  things.     Nothing  came  amiss.     In 
the  hunting-and  fishing  seasons  they  had  venison,  moose,  fat 
bears,  raccoons,  geese,  turkeys,  ducks,  and  fish  of   all  kinds. 
In  the  summer  they  had  green  corn,  beans,  squashes,  and  the 
various  fruits  which  the  country  naturally  produced.     In  the 
winter  they  subsisted  on  corn,  beans,  fish,  nuts,  ground-nuts, 
and  acorns. 

26.  They  had  not  set  meals,  but  ate  when  they  were  hun 
gry  and  cmndlmd~anytrling  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature. 
Sometimes,  from  necessity,  they  lived  without  food  for  several 


river  O-ri-no'-co,  in  South  America.  He  died  in  Spain,  in  1506,  at  about 
the  age  of  seventy,  and  his  body  was  deposited  in  a  convent  at  Val-la- 
do-lid,  Spain,  but  was  afterward  removed  to  Seville.  Twenty-three 
years  after,  it  was  taken  across  the  Atlantic  to  Hispamola,  and,  finally, 
two  hundred  and  sixty  years  later,  was  carried  with  great  ceremony  to 
the  cathedral  of  Havana,  Cuba,,  its  present  resting-place. 


26  Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


days  ;  but  when  well  supplied  they  gourmandized.  Very  lit 
tle  of  their  food  was  derived  from  the  earth,  except  what  it 
spontaneously  produced.  Indian  corn,  beans,  and  squashes 
were  the  chief  articles  for  which  they  labored.  The  ground 
was  both  their  seat  and  table.  Trenchers,  knives,  forks,  and 
napkins  were  unknown.  Their  best  bed  was  a  mat  or  a  skin. 
They  had  neither  chair  nor  a  stool ;  but  they  sat  upon  the 
ground,  commonly  with  their  elbows  on  their  knees.  A  few 
wooden  and  stone  ressels  and  instruments  served  all  theTpur- 
poses  of  domestic  life. 

27.  They  had  neither  steel,  iron,  nor  any   metallic  instru 
ment.     Their  knife  was  a  sharp  stone,  shell,  or  reed,  which 
they  sharpened  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cut  their  hair  and 
make   their  bows    and    arrows.     They    made  their  axes  of 
stones.     These  they  sharpened  somewhat  like  common  iron 
axes,  with  this  difference  that  they  were  made  with  a  neck 
instead  of  an   eye,   and   fastened  with  a  withe,  like  a  black 
smith's  chisel.     They  had  mortars,  stone  pestles,  and  chisels. 
They  dressed  their  corn  with   a   clam-shell,  or  with  a  stick 
made  flat  and  sharp  at  one  end. 

28.  Their  only  weapons  were  bows  and  arrows,  the  toma 
hawk,  and  the  wooden  sword  or  spear.     Their  bow-strings 
were  made  of  the  sinews  of  deer  or  of  Indian  hemp.     Their 
arrows  were  constructed  of  young  elder  or  of  other  straight 
sticks   and    reeds.     These  were  headed  with   a   sharp  flinty 
stone  or  with  bones.     The  arrow  was  cleft  at  one  end,  and 
the  stone  or  bone  was  put  in  and  fastened  with  a  small  cord. 
The  tomahawk  was  a  stick  of  two  or  three  feet  in  length  with 
a  knob  at  the  end.     Sometimes  it  was  a-  stone  hatchet,  or  a 
stick  with  a  piece  of   deer's  horn  at  one  end.     Their  spear 
was  a  straight  piece  of  wood  sharpened  and  hardened  in  the 
fire  or  headed  with  bone  or  stone. 

29.  They  had  made  no  improvement  in  navigation  beyond 
the  construction  and  management  of  the  hollow  trough  or 
canoe.     They  made  their  canoes  of  the  chestnut,  white-wood, 
and  pine  trees.     As  these  grew  straight  to  a  great  length,  and 


The  Mound-builders.  27 

were  exceedingly  large  as  well  as  tall,  they  scooped  out  some 
which  would  carry  fifty  or  sixty  men.  The  construction  of 
these  with  such  miserable  tools  as  the  Indians  possessed  was 
a  great  curiosity.  When  they  had  found  a  suitable  tree  they 
made  a  fire  at  the  root  and  continued  burning  it  and  cutting 
it  with  their  stone  axes  till  it  fell.  They  then  kindled  a  fire 
at  such  distance  from  the  butt  as  they  chose,  and  burned  it 
off  again.  By  burning  and  working  with  their  axes,  and 
scraping  with  sharp  stones  and  shells,  they  made  it  hollow 
and  smooth.  In  the  same  manner  they  shaped  the  ends,  and 
finished  it  so  that  it  could  cut  its  way  with  ease  through  the 
water. ' ' 

30.  The  Indians  had  110  kind  of  coin,  but  they  had  a  sort  of 
money  which  they  called  wampum.     It  consisted  of  small 
beads   most  curiously  wrought   out  of  shells,  and  perforated 
in  the  centre  so  that  they  might  be  strung  on  belts  in  chains 
and  bracelets.    "  AYjth  respect  to  religion,  the  Indians  believed 
that  there  was  a  Great  Spirit  or  (Jod,  but  they  worshipped  a 
variety  of  gods.     They  paid  homage  to  the  fire  and  water, 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  to  whatever  they  imagined  to  be 
superior  to  themselves  or  capable  of  doing  them  an  injury. 
They  paid  their  principal  homage  to  an  Evil  Spirit,  and  from 
fear  worshipped  him  to  keep  him  in  good  humor." 

31.  "  Behind  these  Indians,  who  were  in  possession  of  the 
( •  ( ) 1 1 1 1 try  wHeriTfr'was  diseoverecT "By^rle^Turdpieans,  is  dimly 
seen  the  shadowy  form  of  another  people  who  have  left  many 
remarkable  evidences  of  their  habits  and  customs,    The  moun(j. 
and -of  a  singular  degree  of  civilization,  but  who,     buil<lers. 
many  centuries  ago,  disappeared,  either  exterminated  by  pes- 
•tilence  or  by  some  powerful  and  pitiless  enemy,  or  driven  from 
the  country  to  seek  new  homes  south  and  west  of  the  gulf  of 
Mexico. 

32.  The  evidences  of  the  presence  of  this  ancient  people  are 
found  almost  everywhere  upon  the  North  American  conti 
nent,  except  perhaps  upon  the  Atlantic  coast.     They  consist 
of  mounds,  sometimes  of  imposing  size,  and  other  earthworks, 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


so  numerous  that  in  Ohio  alone  there  are,  or  were  till  quite 
recently,  estimated  to  be  not  less  than  ten  thousand  of  the 
mounds,  and  fifteen  hundred  inclosures  of  earth  and  stone, 
all  evidently  the  work  of  the  same  people.  In  other  parts  of 
the  country  they  were  found  in  such  numbers  that  no  attempt 
has  been  made  to  count  them  all. 


MOUSD    NEAR    WHEELING,    WEST    VIRGINIA.,1 

33.  There  are  no  data  by  which  the  exact  age  of  these  sin 
gular  relics  of  a  once  numerous  and  industrious  people,  living 
a  long-sustained  agricultural  life,  can  be  fixed  ;  but  it  is  evi 
dent  from  certain  established  facts  that  this  must  date  from 
a  very  remote  period.  The  chief  seat  of  their  power  and 
population  seems  to  have  been  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  The 
signs  of  their  occupation  are  many  along  the  banks  of  its 
rivers.  It  is  very  seldom  that  the  human  bones  found  in 
these  mounds,  except  those  of  later  and  evidently  intrusive 

1  This,  known  as  the  Grave  Creek  Mound,  is  one  of  the  most  notable 
in  the  Ohio  valley.  It  is  seventy  feet  high  'and  nine  hundred  in  circum 
ference.  In  it  were  found  two  vaults  containing  human  skeletons.  One 
of  these  skeletons  was  surrounded  by  about  seven  hundred  shell  beads. 
Another  skeleton,  besides  a  profusion  of  shell  beads,  had  copper  rings, 
and  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  plates  of  mica.  "  These  facts," 
says  Foster,  "show  that  the  principal  occupant  of  this  mound  was' a 
royal  personage. ' ' 


English  Discoveries.  29 

burial,  are  in  a  condition  to  admit  of  their  removal,  as  they 
crumble  into  dust  on  exposure  to  the  air.  These  works  are 
often  also  covered  by  the  primeval  forests,  which  are  known 
to  have  grown  undisturbed  since  the  country  was  first  occu 
pied  by  the  whites,  and  the  annular  growth  of  these  trees  has 
been  ascertained  to  be  sometimes  from  five  to  eight  centuries." 

34.  "  A  broad  chasm  is  to  be  spanned  before  we  can  link 
the  mound-builders   to  the  North  American  Indians.     They 
were  essentially  different  in  their  form  of  government,  their 
habits,  and  their  daily  pursuits.   The  Indian,  since 

known  to  the  white  man,  has  spurned  the  re- 
straints  of  a  sedentary  life  which  belongs  to  agri- 
culture,  and  whose  requirements,  in  his  view,  are 
ignoble.  He  was  never  known  to  erect  structures  which 
should  survive 'the  lapse  of  a  generation.  His  lodges  consist 
of  a  few  poles,  one  end  planted  in  the  ground  and  the  other 
secured  with  withes  at  the  top,  and  over  which  are  stretched 
plaits  of  matting  or  of  birch  bark,  or  the  skins  of  the  buffalo. 
This  frail  structure  is  his  shelter  from  the  elements. 

35.  The  domestic  economy  of  the  Indians,  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  the  mound-builders,  exhibits  two  widely  differ 
ent  conditions  of   society.     In  the  one  case  the  people  had 
fixed  habitations  and  methodical  pursuits,  and  the  day's  labor 
was  crowned  with  definite  and  accumulative  results.     In  tlxa 
other  case  the  people  led  a  nomadic  life — a  feast  followed  a 
famine  ;  and,  with  their   shifting  habitations  the  accumula 
tion  of  personal  property  would  prove  an  encumbrance  rather 
than  a  convenience." 

36.  The  tidings  of  Columbus' s  discoveries  produced  aston 
ishment  and  excitement  not  only  in  Spain,  but  in  English  Dis- 
Portugal,  England,  France,  and  other  countries  of     coveries- 
Europe  ;  and  at  once  preparations  were  made  for  discovery 
and  exploration  in  the  new  lands.1 

1  "  The  discovery  of  a  strait  into  the  Indian  ocean  is  the  true  key  to 
the  maritime  movements  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  six 
teenth  century." — Prescott. 


30  Discoveries  and  Explorations.          1497-9 

In  1497,  John  Cabot  (kab '-hot] ,  accompanied  by  his  son 
Sebastian,  sailing  under  a  commission  from  Henry  VII.  of 
England,  reached  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  thus  was  the 
first  to  discover  the  continent  of  America.  In  a  second  voy 
age,  made  by  Sebastian  Cabot  the  next  year,  a  large  extent  of 
the  eastern  coast  of  N~orth  America  was  explored.1 

37.  Columbus,   it    is  certain,  never   realized    how  grand 
was  the  discovery  he  had  made.     It  never  dawned  upon  his 
mind  that  he  had  opened  the  way  to  another  continent.     His 

.  .        name,  we  all  believe,  should  have  been  given  to 
Origin 
of  the  name  the  new  world,  but  that  honor  was  reserved  for 

Amerigo  Vespucci  (ah-ma-re'-go  ves-poot'-clie),  an 
Italian  navigator.  Seven  years  after  Columbus  had  made  his 
discovery  Vespucci  visited  the  coast  of  South  America  (in 
1499),  and  two  years  later  made  a  second  visit  to  the  same 
regions.  He  prepared  accounts  of  the  two  voyages,  one 
of  which  being  published,  moved  a  German  geographer,  un 
der  an  assumed  name,  in  a  Latin  work  printed  the  next  year 
after  the  death  of  Columbus,  to  suggest  the  name  America  for 
the  newly-discovered  lands.  In  alluding  to  this  person,  Hum- 
boldt  says  :  "  I  have  been  so  happy  as  to  discover  the  name 
and  the  literary  relations  of  the  mysterious  personage  who,  in 
1507,  was  the  first  to  propose  the  name  of  America  to  desig 
nate  the  new  continent." 

38.  The  opinion   that  the  lands  discovered  by  Columbus 
were  islands  of  India  was  entertained  several  years  after  his 
death.     It  was  finally -dispelled  (in  1513)  by  a  Spaniard  named 
The  new  lands  Bal-bo'a,   governor   of    a   settlement   at   Darien. 

not  India.  <  <  Floating  rumors  had  reached  the  Spaniards  from 
time  to  time  of  countries  in  the  far  west  teeming  with  the 
metal  they  so  much  coveted;  but  the  first  distinct  notice  of  Peru 
was  about  the  year  1511,  when  Balboa  was  weighing  some  gold 

1  It  is  not  known  with  certainty  when  and  where  the  Cabots  were 
born,  nor  at  what  time  and  place  they  died,  though  it  is  supposed  they 
were  natives  of  Italy.  Bancroft  says  of  Sebastian  Cabot  that  "  he  gave 
England  a  continent  and  no  one  knows  his  burial-place." 


1513       The  First  Voyage  around  the  Earth  31 

which  he  had  collected  from  the  natives.  A  young  barbarian 
chieftain  who  was  present  struck  the  scales  with  his  fist, 
and,  scattering  the  glittering  metal  around  the  apartment, 
exclaimed  :  '  If  this  is  what  you  prize  so  much  that  you  are 
willing  to  leave  your  distant  homes  and  risk  even  life  itself 
for  it,  I  can  tell  you  of  a  land  where  they  eat  and  drink  out 
of  golden  vessels,  and  gold  is  as  cheap  as  iron  is  with  you.' 

39.  It  was  not  long  after  this  startling  intelligence  that 
Balboa  achieved  the  formidable  adventure    of    scaling  the 
mountain  rampart  of    the   isthmus  which  divides  the  two 
mighty  oceans   from  each  other  ;   when,  armed  with  sword 
and  buckler,  he  rushed  into  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  and 
cried  out,  in  the  true  chivalrous  vein,  that  '  he  claimed  this 
unknown  sea,  with  all  that  it  contained,  for  the   king  of  Cas 
tile,  and   that   he  would    make  good  the  claim  against  all, 
Christian   or  infidel,  who  dared  to  gainsay  it.'    All  the  broad 
continent  and  sunny  isles  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  South 
ern   ocean  !     Little  did  the  bold  cavalier  comprehend  the 
full  import  of  his  magnificent  vaunt."1 

40.  No  other  evidence  was  needed  to  prove  that  the  lands 
discovered   by  Columbus,  the    Cabots,  and    others  were  no 
parts  of  India,  yet    additional  proof  was  given  in  the  voy 
age  made  by  a  Portuguese  navigator  named  Ma-        Tlie 
gellan  (ma-jel'-lan),  commanding  a  Spanish  fleet.  ^^JJf*'6 
Sailing  from  Spain  across  the  Atlantic,  he  discov-    tlie  eartl1. 
ered  the  strait  which  bears  his  name.     Passing  through  .this 
strait  he  reached  the  ocean  which  Balfroa  had  seven  years 
previously  discovered.     This  ocean  he  called  the  Pacific,  be 
cause  of  the  mild  weather  he  experienced  on  entering  it  and 
for  several  days  after.     Steering  boldly  for  India,  he  reached 
a  number  of  islands,  but  at  one  of  the  Philippine  group  was 
slain  in  a  battle  with  the  natives.     His  ship,  however,  pro- 


1  About  twenty  years  after  Balboa's  discovery  of  the  Pacific,  Pizarro,  a 
Spanish  adventurer,  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and,  with  a  small 
force,  of  whom  four  men  were  his  brothers,  and  one  was  De  Soto  (see 
p.  34),  proceeded  against  and  conquered  Peru, 


32  Discoveries  and  Explorations. 

ceeded  on  the  voyage  westward,  passed  the  cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  in  this  way  reached  Spain,  thus  completing  the 
first  voyage  ever  made  around  the  earth.1 

41.  Among  those  who  accompanied  Columbus  on  his  sec 
ond  expedition  to  the  new  world  was  a  Spaniard  named  Ponce 
de  Leon  (pon'-tha  da  ld-oan'\-.of  whom  it  has  been  said  :  "  lie 

was  a  lion  by  name  and  still  more  by  nature." 
.  A  visit  to  the  beautiful  island  of  Porto  Rico,  which 

he  made  after  the  expedition  alluded  to,  inspired 
him  with  the  desire  of  being  its  governor,  and  the  king  of 
Spain  gave  him  the  appointment.  "But  his  commission  as 
governor  conflicted  with  the  claims  of  the  family  of  Colum 
bus  ;  and  policy  as' well  as  justice  required  his  removal."  He 
had,  without  good  cause,  fought  the  natives  of  the  island, 
had  killed  many  of  them  in  battle,  and  those  that  still  lived 
and  had  not  escaped  to  the  small  islands  in  the  vicinity,  were 
slaves.  He  had  been  deprived  of  his  office,  but  he  w.as  still 
living  on  the  island  on  the  riches  that  he  had  accumulated, 
when  one  day  he  was  told  by  one  of  the  natives  that  on  an  isl 
and  far  to  the  north-west  plenty  of  gold  could  be  found, 
and  at  the  same  place  there  was  a  wonderful  fountain. 

42.  The  Indian,  in  describing  the  fountain,  said  that  if 
any  old  person  fhould  go  into  it  and  wash  himself  with  its 
waters  he  would  immediately  become  young  again.     The   In 
dian  further  stated  that  a  party  of  Indians  had  gone  to  the 
fountain  many  years  before,  and  as  they  had  never  returned, 
they  were  without  cToubt  living  in  that  happy  land — all  of 
them  young  and  all  happy.     This  story  was  afterwards  told 
to  Ponce  by  other  Indians,  for  they  all  believed  it  to  be  true  ; 
and  it  was  told  so  often,  and  with  so  much  sincerity,  that  he, 
too,  finally  believed  it.   In  fact,  he  was  not  the  only  European 
who  did  believe  it.     The  story  found  believers  not   only  in 

1  Magellan's  fleet  originally  consisted  of  five  vessels,  but,  owing  to  de 
sertion  and  loss,  was  reduced  to  one.  Before  the  Pacific  ocean  came  to 
be  so  called  generally,  it  was  often  called  the  South  /v,/,  or  the 
ftca, 


1513  Discovery  of  Florida.  33 

Porto  Rico,  but  in  Spain  itself.  Peter  Martyu,  an  Italian  his 
torian  of  the  time,  in  one  of  his  letters  written  in  Spain, 
says  :  "  This  rumor  of  the  fountain  for  a  truth  has  been  so 
spread  that  not  only  the  people,  but  also  many  of  them  whom 
wisdom  or  fortune  had  divided  from  the  common  sort  think 
it  to  be  true." 

43.  Ponce,  evidently,  gave  willing   credence  to  the  story, 
for  he  was  growing  old,  and  eagerly  desired  to  be  young  once 
more  ;  besides,  he  thought  of  the  glory  it  would  give  him 
to  make  known  to  the  world  the  magic  pool.     At  last,  with 
the  determination  of  finding  the  land  of  gold,  and  the  "  won 
derful  fountain   of  youth,"  he  fitted  out  three  ships  and  sail 
ed  from  Porto   Rico.     This  took  place  about  twenty  years 
after  Columbus  had  discovered  that  island.      Exactly  how 
many  and  what  islands  Ponce  visited  is  not  known.     We  do 
know,  however,  that  he  landed  on  the  island  of  San  Salva 
dor,  the  one  that  Columbus  first  discovered.     He  also  touched 
at  other  islands,  and  at  every  one  inquired  for  the  fountain. 
We  can  believe  that  he  tasted  of  the  water  of  many  springs, 
and  bathed  in  the  waters  of  many  ;  still,  so  long  as  he  did 
not  get  to  be  a  young  man  again,  he  kept  going  from  island 
to  island. 

44.  In  this  way  he  continued  his  efforts,  till  one  Sunday — 
it  was  Easter  Sunday — he  came  to  a  large  country  which  he 
thought  was  a  great  island  (1513).    Its  trees  were  full  of  blos 
soms,  and  millions  of  flowers  covered  the  ground.    The  occa 
sion  was  one  to  make  him  and  his  men  very  happy.     The  day 
was  clear,  the  air  balmy,  and,  as  the   fragrance  of  the  blos 
soms  was  wafted  to  the  happy  Spaniards,  they  no  doubt  be 
lieved  they  had  at  last  come  to  the  fairy  land.     To  the  new 
found  region  Ponce  gave  the  name  of  Florida,  because  the 
discovery  was  made  "  on  Easter  Sunday,  which  the  Spaniards 
call  Pascua  Florida1'  (pah'-scoo-ah  flo-re' -dah}  ;  and  as  the 
wor&florida  means  flowery,  it  may  be   said  there   were   two 
reasons  for  calling  the  country  by  that  beautiful  name. 

45.  Ponce  landed;  but  found  not  the  fountain.     He  sailed 


34  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1538 

along  the  coast,  going  around  the  southern  point  of  Florida  ; 
but  at  last,  weary  of  the  search,  returned  to  Porto  Rico. 
Several  years  after,  he  went  again  to  Florida,  his  object  being 
to  make  a  settlement,  he  having  been  appointed  governor  of 
the  country  on  the  condition  that  he  would  colonize  it.  His 
company  was  attacked  by  the  natives  and  driven  back  to  the 
ships  ;  and  he,  "  mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow,  returned  to 
Cuba  to  die.  So  ended  the  adventurer  who  had  coveted 
immeasurable  wealth  and  perpetual  youth.  The  discoverer 
of  Florida  desired  immortality  on  earth,  and  gained  its 
shadow.7'' 1 

46.  "  Hernando  de  Soto  was  the  companion  of  Pizarro  in 
The  conquest  of  Peru.     He  had  come 
to  America  a  needy  adventurer,  with 

no  other  fortune  than  his 
DpeSd°i:t(ion!X"  sword  and  target.     But  his 

exploits    had    given    him 
fame  and  fortune,  and   he  appeared 
at  the  Spanish  court  with  the  retinue 
of  a  nobleman.     Still  his  active  ener 
gies  could  not  endure  repose,  and  his 
avarice  and  ambition  goaded  him  to 
fresh  enterprises.     He  asked  and  ob 
tained  permission  to  conquer  Florida.2  DE  SOTO. 
His  plans  were  embraced  with  enthusiasm.     Nobles  and  gen 
tlemen  contended  for  the  privilege  of  joining  his  standard  ; 
and,  setting    sail    with  an  ample  armament,  he  landed   at 


1  Two  expeditions  were  made  to  Carolina  by  De  Ayllon  (lle-yone'},  one 
(in  1520)  for  slaves  to  work  on  the  plantations  and  in  the  mines  of  St. 
Domingo,  the  other  (in  1525)  for  conquest  ;  but  both  were  unsuccessful. 
In  1521,  Cortez  conquered  the  Mexicans  and  that  country  became  aprov 
ince  of  Spain.      In  1528,  Narvaez  (Nar-vah' -elK)  made   a  disastrous  at 
tempt  to  conquer  Florida,  only  four  of  his  men  returning,  after  years  of 
wandering.     These  three  commanders  were  Spaniards. 

2  "  It  must  be  recollected  that  the  name  of  Florida  then  (1538)  desig 
nated  a  vast  extent  of  country,   stretching  from  the  gulf  of   Mexico, 
nortli-westwardly,  towards  unknown   regions," — Fairbanks' 'a  History  of 


1541        Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  IZiver.  35 

the  bay  of  Es-pi-ri'-tu  Santo,  now  Tampa  bay,  in  Florida, 
with  six  hundred  and  twenty  chosen  men,  a  band  as  gal 
lant  and  well  appointed,  as  eager  in  purpose  and  auda 
cious  in  hope  as  ever  trod  the  shores  of  the  new  world.  The 
clangor  of  trumpets,  the  neighing  of  horses,  the  fluttering 
of  pennons,  the  glittering  of  helmet  and  lance  startled  the 
ancient  forest  with  unwonted  greeting. 

47.  Amid  this  pomp  of  chivalry  religion  was  not  forgotten. 
The  sacred  vessels  and  vestments,  with  bread  and  wine  for 
the  Eucharist  were  carefully  provided  ;  and  De  Soto  himself 
declared  that  the  enterprise  was  undertaken  for  God  alone, 
and  seemed  to  be  the  object  of  his  special  care.      The  adven 
turers  began    their  march   (1539).      Their  story    has  been 
often    told.     For   month   after  month  and  year   after  year 
the  procession  of  priests  and  cavaliers,   cross-bowmen,    sol 
diers   with   hand  guns,  and  Indian   captives   laden  with  the 
baggage,  still  wandered  on  through  wild  and  boundless  wastes, 
lured  hither  and  thither  by  tjje  ignis-fatuus  of  their  hopes. 
They  traversed  great  portions  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mis 
sissippi,  everywhere  inflicting  and  enduring  misery,  but  never 
approaching  their  phantom  El  Dorado." 

48.  "  At  length,  in  the  third   year  of   their  journeying, 
they   reached   an   uninhabited   country   full  of   forests   and 
swamps,  where   they   had   sometimes   to  swim   their  horses. 
For  seven  days  they  traversed  this  country,  coming 

at  last  in  sight  of  a  village  (1541).     It  was  seated  of  the  MisSs- 

'   .   ,       ,     .          ,,        sippi  Eiver. 
near  a  wide   and  rapid   river,  which,   being   the 

largest  they  had  discovered,  they  called  the  Rio  Grande. 
This  was  the  *  Father  of  Waters,'  the  mighty  Mississippi.  De 
Soto  was  the  first  European  who  looked  out  upon  the  turbid 
waters  of  this  magnificent  river,  and  that  event  has  more 
surely  enrolled  his  name  among  those  who  will  ever  live  in 
American  history,  than  if  he  had  discovered  mines  of  gold 
and  silver," 

49.  As  the  canoes  of  the  Indians  were  not  large  enough 
nor   strong  enough  to   convey  horses   across   the  river,  the 


36  Discoveries  and  Explorations,  1542 

Spaniards  built  suitable  boats,  and  in  these  they  were  borne 

to  the  western  bank  of  the  stream.     The  search  for  the  land 

De  Soto      of  £old   was  then  resnme(l ;   and   a  region  west 

MiSipif  of  tlie  Mississippi,  to  the  distance  of  more  than 

'  two  hundred  miles,  was  explored.     But  De  Soto, 

discouraged  and  sick,  turned  his  wanderings  eastward,  and 

finally  made  his  way  back  to  the  river,  where  he  died  of   a 

fever  (1542). 

50.  "  So   soon   as  the  death  had  taken  place,  Mos-co'-so, 
whom  De  Soto  had  named  to  be  his  successor,  directed  the 

Burial  body  to  be  put  secretly  into  a  house,  where  it  re- 
ofDeSoto.  mained  three  days;  and  thence  it  was  taken  at 
night,  by  his  order,  and  buried.  The  Indians,  who  had  seen 
De  Soto  ill,  finding  him  no  longer,  suspected  the  reason  ; 
and  passing  by  where  he  lay,  they  observed  the  ground  loose, 
and,  looking  about,  talked  among  themselves.  This  coming 
to  the  knowledge  of  Moscoso,  he  ordered  the  corpse  to  be 
taken  up  at  night,  and  among  the  shawls  that  enshrouded 
it  having  cast  abundance  of  sand  to  increase  its  weight,  it 
was  taken  out  in  a  canoe  and  committed  to  the  middle  of 
the  stream. 

51.  An  Indian  chief  asked  for  De   Soto,  saying  :  '  What 
has  been  done  with  my  brother  and  lord,  the  governor  ? ' 

Moscoso  told  him  he  had  ascended  into  the  skies  as  he  had 
done  on  many  other  occasions  ;  but  as  he  would  have  to  be 
detained  there  some  time,  he  had  left  him  in  his  stead.  The 
chief,  thinking  within  himself  that  he  was  dead,  ordered  two 
well-proportioned  young  nien  to  be  brought,  saying  that  it 
was  the  usage  of  the  country  when  any  lord  died  to  kill  some 
persons  who  should  accompany  and  serve  him  on  the  way,  on 
which  account  they  were  brought ;  and  he  told  him  to  com 
mand  their  heads  to  be  cut  off  that  they  might  go  according 
ly  to  attend  his  friend  and  master. 

52.  Moscoso  replied  to  him  that  the  governor  was  not  dead 
but   only  gone  into  the  heavens,  having  taken  with  him  of 
his  soldiers  sufficient  number  for  his  need  ;  and  he  besought 


1577         Drake's  Voyage  around  tJie  World.  37 

him  to  let  those  Indians  go,  and  from  that  time  forward  not 
to  follow  so  evil  a  practice.  The  two  men  were  presently 
ordered  to  be  let  loose  that  they  might  return  to  their  homes  ; 
but  one  of  them  refused  to  leave,  alleging  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  remain  in  the  power  of  one  who,  without  cause,  con 
demned  him  to  die,  and  that  he  who  had  saved  his  life  he 
desired  to  serve  so  long  as  he  should  live.  De  Soto's  property 
was  ordered  by  Moscoso  to  be  sold  at  public  outcry.  It  con 
sisted  of  two  male  and  three  female  slaves,  three  horses,  and 
seven  hundred  swine."  * 

53.  While  the  eastern  and  southern  parts  of  North  Ameri 
ca  were  being  explored,  the  western  part  was  not  neglected. 
Expeditions  sent   by  Cortez,  the  conqueror  of   Mexico,  ex 
amined  the  California  peninsula;  and  Coronado   other,  ex- 
(ko-ro-nali1 '-do)  "with  an  army  of  three  hundred  Potions. 
Spaniards,  most  of  them  mounted,"  sent  by  the  governor  of 
Mexico,  wandered  for  three  years,  extending  his  excursion  as 
far  as  the  western  part  of  Kansas  (1540-1543).     His  courage 
and  skill  should   have  secured  for  him  the  approbation  of 
King  Charles  :  instead,  "  his  failure  to  find  a  northern  Peru 
threw  him  out  of  favor." 2     The  most  memorable  enterprise, 
however,  in  connection  with  the  early  Western  explorations 
was  that  commanded  by  the  English  navigator,  Francis  Drake, 
during  his  "  career  of  splendid  piracy." 

54.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1577,  Drake  sailed  from  Ply 
mouth,  England,  with  five  small  vessels  which  had 

been  procured  and  armed  by  himself  and  others,   age  around 

-r,         ,     -,  n      r.  the    world, 

ostensibly  for  a  voyage  to  Egypt,  but  really  for  a 

1  The  remnant  of  De  Soto's  followers,  having  in  vain  tried  to  reach 
Mexico  through  the  forests,  built  seven  frail  barks,  and  sailed  down  the 
Mississippi  and  along  the   coasts  of  Mexico,  till  they  reached  a  Spanish 
settlement. 

2  Alarcon  (ah-lar'-son),  sent  up  the  coast  with  two  ships,  to  aid  Coro- 
iiado,  discovered  the  Colorado  of  the  west,  and  sailed  up  it  nearly  a  hun 
dred  miles  above  the  present  boundary  of  the  United  States.     In  1542, 
Cabrillo  (kab-i'eel'-yd),  sailing  from  Mexico,  explored  the  coast  as  far  as 
San  Francisco  bay  ,  but,  dyinsr,  his  pilot,  Fer-re'-lo,  continued  the  ex 
plorations  as  far  north,  probably,  as  the  latitude  of  the  forty-third  degree. 


38  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1579 

cruise  against  the  dominions  and  subjects  of  Spain.  The 
governments  of  England  and  Spain  were  then  indeed  at  peace 
with  each  other  ;  but  mutual  hatred  prevailed  between  the 
two  nations,  and  the  principles  of  general  law  or  morals  were 
not  at  that  period  so  refined  as  to  prevent  Queen  Elizabeth 
from  favoring  Drake's  enterprise. 

55.  "  For  some  months  after  leaving  England,  Drake  roved 
about  the  Atlantic  without  making  any  prize  of  value.     He 
then   refitted   his  vessels   at   a  port   on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Patagonia,  and  succeeded  in  conducting  three  of  them  safely 
through   the  dreaded   strait  of   Magellan   into   the  Pacific. 
Scarcely,  however,  was  this  accomplished  ere  the  little  squad 
ron  was  dispersed  by  a  storm  ;  and  the  chief  of  the  expedition 
was  left  with  only  a  schooner  of  a  hundred  tons'  burden  and 
about  sixty  men  to  prosecute  his  enterprise  against  the  power 
and  wealth  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  western  side  of  America. 

56.  Notwithstanding  these    disheartening    occurrences, 
Drake  did  not  hesitate  to  proceed  to  the  parts  of  the  coast 
occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  whom  he  found  unprepared  to 
resist  him  either  on  land  or  on  sea.  He  accordingly  plundered 
their  towns  and  ships  with  but  little  difficulty  ;  and  so  deep 
and   lasting   was   the   impression   produced   by  his   achieve 
ments  that,  for  more   than  a  century  afterward,  his  name 
was  never  mentioned  in  those  countries  without  exciting  feel 
ings  of  horror  and  detestation. 

57.  At  length,  in  the  spring  of  1579,  Drake,  having  com 
pleted  his  visitation  of  the  Spanish  American  coasts  by  the 
plunder  of  a  town  on  the  south  side  of  Mexico,  and  filled  his 
vessel  with  precious  spoils,  became  anxious  to  return  to  Eng 
land  ;  but  having  reason   to  expect  that  the  Spaniards  would 
intercept   him  if    he   should  attempt  to  repass  Magellan's 
strait,  he  resolved  to  seek  a  northern  route  to  the  Atlantic. 
Accordingly,  on  quitting  the  coast  he  steered  west  and  north 
west  ;  and,  having  sailed  in  those  directions  about  fourteen 
hundred  leagues,  he  had,  in  the  beginning  of  June,  advanced 
beyond  the  forty-second  degree  of   north  latitude,  where   his 


1579        Drake's  Voyage  around  the  'World.  39 

men,  being  thus  '  speedily  come  out  of  the  extreme  heat,  found 
the  air  so  cold  that,  being  pinched  with  the  same,  they  com 
plained  of  the  extremity  thereof. ' 

58.  Thinking  it  best  to  seek  the  land,  he  soon  made  the 
American    coast,   and   endeavored  to   approach  it  so  as  to 
anchor  ;  but  finding  no  proper  harbor  there  he  sailed  along 
the  shore  southward  until  the  seventeenth  of  the  month  when 
'  it  pleased  God  to  send  him  into  a  fair  and  good  bay,  within 
thirty-eight  degrees  towards  the  line.7  In  this  bay  (San  Fran 
cisco,  or  Bo-de'-ga),  the  English  remained  five  weeks,  employ 
ed  in  refitting  their  vessel,  and  obtaining  such  supplies  for  their 
voyage  as  the  country  offered. 

59.  The  natives,  '  having  their  houses  close  by  the  water's 
side,'  at  first  exhibited  signs  of  hostility  ;  but  they  were  soon 
conciliated  by  the  kind  and  forbearing  conduct  of  the  stran 
gers  ;  and  their  respect   for  Drake  so  increased  that,  when 
they  saw  him  about  to  depart,  they  earnestly  implored  him  to 
continue  among  them  as  their  king.     The  naval  hero,  though 
not  disposed  to  undertake,  in  person,  the  duties  of  sovereign 
ty  over  a  tribe   of  naked  or  skin-clad   savages,   nevertheless 
'  thought  not  meet  to  reject  the  crown  because  he  knew  not 
what  honor  or  profit   it   might   bring   to   his  own  country ; 
whereupon,  in  the  name  and  to  the  use  of  her  majesty,  Queen 
Elizabeth,  he   accepted   the   crown,  sceptre,  and   dignity  of 
the  country,  wishing  that   the  riches   and  treasure  thereof 
might  be  so  conveniently  transported  for  the  enriching  of  her 
kingdom  at  home. '      The  coronation  accordingly  took  place 
with  most  ludicrous  solemnity,  and  Drake  bestowed  on  his 
dominions  the  name  of  New  Albion. 

GO.  The  vessel  having  been  refitted,  Drake  erected  on  the 
shore  a  pillar  bearing  an  inscription  commemorating  the  fact 
of  this  cession  of  sovereignty  ;  and  on  the  22d  of  July  he 
took  leave  of  his  worthy  subjects  to  their  great  regret.  Hav 
ing,  however,  by  this  time  abandoned  all  idea  of  seeking  a 
northern  passage  to  the  Atlantic,  he  sailed  directly  across  the 
Pacific,  and  thence  through  the  Indian  seas,  and  around  the 


40  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1584 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  England,  where  lie  arrived  on  the 
26th  of  September,  1580."  1 

61.  Four  years  later  the   celebrated   courtier,  Walter   Ra 
leigh,  having  obtained  from  Eliza 
beth  a  grant  of  land  on  the  eastern 

part  of  Xorth  America, 
Other  expe-  , 

ditionsby    sent     out     two     vessels 

1§  (1584).  These  sailed  to 
the  coast  of  Carolina,  and  the  voy 
agers  landed  on  the  island  of  Roan- 
oke,  "but  made  no  extensive  exam 
ination  of  the  coast."  They  found 
the  region  delightful ;  and  so  glow 
ing  an  account  did  they  give  of  it  on  RALEIGH. 
their  return  to  England  that  Elizabeth  declared  the  event  to 

O 

be  the  most  glorious  in  her  reign.  As  a  memorial  of  her  un 
married  state  she  named  the  country  Virginia.  Upon  Ealeigh 
she  conferred  the  honor  of  knighthood.2 

1  Elizabeth  received  Drake  with  the  most  distinguished  honor.     His 
vessel  was  brought  to  the  Thames,  and  a  banquet  was  held  on  board,  at 
which  Elizabeth  was  present,  and  the  occasion  was  used  to  give  Drake 
the  honor  of  knighthood. 

2  Attempts,  by  direction  of  Raleigh,  were  afterward  made  to  plant  per 
manent  settlements  on  Roanoke  island,  but  they  proved  unsuccessful. 

The  tobacco  plant  was  first  carried  to  England  by  some  of  Raleigh's 
returning  colonists,  and  he  introduced  the  habit  of  smoking  it.  "It  is 
related  that  when  his  servant  entered  his  room  with  a  tankard  of  ale,  and 
for  the  first  time  saw  the  smoke  issuing  from  his  master's  mouth  and 
nostrils,  he  cast  the  liquor  in  his  face.  Terribly  frightened,  he  alarmed 
the  household  with  the  intelligence  that  Sir  Walter  was  on  fire." 

The  death  of  Elizabeth  (1603)  proved  fatal  to  Raleigh's  fortunes.  He 
was  tried  on  a  false  charge  of  treason,  convicted,  and  imprisoned.  Dur 
ing  his  imprisonment  he  wrote  a  History  of  England.  Being  released,  in 
order  that  he  might  point  out  a  gold  mine  which  he  said  existed  in  the 
northern  part  of  South  America,  and  having  failed  in  the  expedition,  he 
was,  on  his  return,  beheaded,  under  the  sentence  which  had  been  almost 
forgotten  (1018).  "  He  met  death  with  the  most  heroic  indifference.  Be 
fore  he  laid  his  head  upon  the  block  he  felt  the  edge  of  the  axe,  and  said, 
with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  that  it  was  a  sharp  medicine,  but  would  cure 
the  worst  d'sease.  When  he  was  bent  down,  ready  for  death,  he  said  to 
the  executioner,  finding  that  he  hesitated,  '  What  dost  thoufear  ?  Strike, 
man  !  '  So  the  axe  came  down  and  struck  his  head  off,  in  the  sixty-sixth 
year  of  his  age." 


1608  Marquette  on  the  Mississippi.  41 


62.  "  The  French  competed  without  delay  for  the   New 
World/''     Gartier  (car-te-af)  made  two  voyages,  discovered 
the  St.  Lawrence  river,  and,  in  the  name  of  his  king,  took 
possession   of  all  the  country  he  saw.     Later,    Port  Royal, 
now  Annapolis,  in    Nova    Scotia,    was    settled ;  ^  lorations 
and,  later  still,  Champlain  (sham-plain1)  founded    Xjbyrtiie011 
the  city  of  Quebec,  and  explored  the  lake  which 

bears  his  name  (1608).  To  the  region  now  included  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  the  French  gave  the  name 
A-ca'-di-a.  They  extended  their  efforts  at  settlement  to  Caro 
lina  and  Florida,  but  without  permanent  success.  No  ex 
peditions,  however,  were  marked  with  more  heroism  and  self- 
sacrifice  than  those  conducted  by  the  French  Catholics  in 
their  efforts  to  explore  the  country  in  the  region  of  the  great 
lakes  and  along  the  Mississippi  river,  and  to  convert  the 
Indians  to  their  faith. 

63.  Prominent   among  these  heroic  men  was  Marquette 
(mar-kef).       "In    the    spring    of    1673,    he,    with    Joliet 
(zhuh-lya)  for  his  chieftain,  and  five  other  Frenchmen,  em 
barked  at  Mackinaw  in  two  frail  bark  canoes.      With  paddle 
in  hand,  and  full  of  hope,  they  soon  glided  merrily 

over  the  crystal  waters  of  Lake  Michigan.  Before  on  the 
entering  the  Wisconsin,  they  looked  back  a  last 
adieu  to  the  waters  which,  great  as  the  distance  was,  con 
nected  them  with  Quebec  and  their  countrymen.  They 
knelt  on  the  shore  to  offer,  by  anew  devotion,  their  lives,  their 
honor,  and  their  undertaking  to  their  beloved  mother,  the 
Virgin  Mary  Immaculate.  Then,  launching  their  boats  on  the 
hroad  river,  they  sailed  slowly  down  its  current  amid  its  vine* 
clad  isles,  and  its  countless  sand-bars.  No  sound  broke  the 
stillness,  no  human  form  appeared,  and  at  last,  after  sailing 
seven  days,  they  happily  glided  into  the  great  river — the  Mis 
sissippi. 

64.  Joy  that  could  find  no  utterance  in  words  filled  the 
grateful  heart  of  Marquette.      The  broad  river  of  the  Con 
ception,  as  he  named  it,  now  lay  before  them,  stretching 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


1673 


hundreds  of  miles  to  an  unknown  sea.  Soon  all  was  new. 
Mountain  and  forest  had  glided  away  ;  the  islands,  with  their 
groves  of  cotton-wood,  became  more  frequent  ;  and  moose 


MARQUETTE   ON   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

^nd  aeer  browzed  on  the  plains  ;  strange  animals  were  seen 
traversing  the  river,  and  monstrous  fish  appeared  in  its 
waters.  But  they  proceeded  on_their  way  amid  this  solitude, 


1673        La  Salle  descends  the  Mississippi.  43 

frightful  by  its  utter  absence  of  man.  Descending  still 
further,  they  came  to  the  land  of  the  bison,  which,  with  the 
turkey,  became  sole  tenants  of  the  wilderness  :  all  other  game 
had  disappeared. 

65.  At  last,  on  the  25th  of  June,  they  descried  footprints 
on  the  shore.     They  now  took  heart,  and  Joliet  and  the  mis 
sionary  (Marquette),  leaving  their  five  men  in  the  canoes, 
followed  a  little  beaten  path  to  discover  who  the  tribe  might 
be.     They  traveled  on  in  silence  almost  to  the  cabin  doors, 
when  they  halted,  and,  with  a  loud  halloa,  proclaimed  their 
coming.     Three  villages  lay  before  them.     The  first,  roused 
by  the  cry,  poured  forth  its  motley  group,  which  halted  at 
the  sight  of  the  new-comers  and  the  well-known  dress  of  the 
missionary.    Old  men  came  slowly  on,  step  by  measured  step, 
bearing  aloft  the  all-mysterious  calumet.     All  was  silence  : 
they  stood  at  last  before  the  two  Europeans,  and  Marquette 
asked,   'Who  are  you?'    i  We  are  Illinois,7  was  the  answer, 
which  dispelled  all  anxiety  from  the  explorers,  and  sent  a 
thrill  to  the  heart  of  Marquette.    The  Illinois  missionary  was 
at  last  amid  the  children  of  that  tribe  which  he  had  so  long, 
so  tenderly  yearned  to  see  (1673). "  1 

66.  "  We  now  turn  from  the  humble  Marquette,  and  by  our 
side  stands  the  masculine  form  of  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  (sal)." 
La  Salle  was  no  missionary.    His  object  was  fame  and  fortune. 
"  Three   thoughts  were    mastering    him.      First,  he  would 
achieve  that  which  Champlain  had  vainly  attempt 
ed,  and  of  which  our  own  generation  has  but  now  descends  the 
seen  the  accomplishment— the  opening  of  a  pas-      ss  ssippl> 
sage  to    India  and   China  across  the  American  Continent. 
Next,  he  would  occupy  the  great  West,  develop  its  commer 
cial  resources,  and  anticipate  the  Spaniards  and  the  English 
in  the  possession  of  it.     Thirdly,  he  would  establish  a  forti- 


1  Marquette  descended  the  Mississippi  a  distance  of  seven  hundred 
miles.  His  death  occurred  two  years  after,  near  a  small  stream  in  Mich 
igan,  which  bears  his  name. 


44  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1681 

fied  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  thus  securing  to  the 
French  an  outlet  for  the  trade  of  the  interior."  These 
schemes,  or  at  least  the  first  two,  after  years  of  effort,  attended 
with  great  sufferings  and  loss  of  life  and  property,  ended 
in  failure.  How  far  the  third  was  successful  we  will  relate. 

67.  "  The  summer  of  1681  was  spent  when  La  Salle  reached 
Lake  Huron,  and  December  was  nearly  gone  when  he  crossed 
to  the  little  river  Chicago.      His  party,  composed  of  tAventy- 
three  Frenchmen,  was  increased  by  the  addition  of  some  new 
friends,  savages,  whose  midnight  yells  had  started  the  border 
hamlets  of  New  England  ;  who  had  danced  around  Puritan 
scalps,  and  whom  Puritan  imaginations  painted  as  incarnate 
fiends.     They  insisted  on  taking  their  women  with  them  to 
cook  for  them  and  do  other  camp  work.     Thus  the  expedi 
tion  included  fifty-four  persons,  of  whom  some  were  useless 
and  others  a  burden.     It  was  the  dead  of  winter,  and  the 
streams  were  frozen.     They  made  sledges,  placed  on  them  the 
canoes,   the  baggage,   and  a  disabled  Frenchman  ;    crossed 
from  the  Chicago  to  the  northern  branch  of  the  Illinois,  and 
filed  in  a  long  procession  down  its  frozen  course.  They  reach 
ed  the  site  of  the  great  Illinois  village,  found  it  tenantless, 
and  continued  their  journey,  still  dragging  their  canoes,  till 
at  length  they  reached  open  water  below  Lake  Peoria. 

68.  La  Salle  had  abandoned  his  original  plan  of  building 
a  vessel  for  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.     Bitter  expe 
rience  had  taught  him  the  difficulty  of  the  attempt,  and  he 
resolved  to  trust  to  his  canoes  alone.     They  embarked  again, 
floating  prosperously  down  between  the  leafless  forests  that 
flanked  the  tranquil  river,  till,  on  the  sixth  of   February, 
they  issued  forth  on  the  majestic  bosom  of  the  Mississippi. 
Here  for  a  time  their  progress  was  stopped  ;   for  the  river 
was  full  of  floating  ice.     La  Salle's  Indians,  too,  had  lagged 
behind  ;  but  within  a  week  all  had  arrived,  the  navigation 
was  once  more  free,  and  they  resumed  their  course.    Towards 
evening  they  saw  on  their  right  the  mouth  of  a  great  river  ; 
and  the  clean  current  was  invaded  by  the  headlong  torrent  of 


1682        La  Salle  descends  tlie  Mississippi.  45 

the  Missouri,  opaque  with  mud.  They  built  their  camp-fires 
in  the  neighboring  forest  ;  and  at  daylight,  embarking  anew 
on  the  dark  and  mighty  stream,  drifted  swiftly  down  towards 
unknown  destinies.  » 

69.  With  every  stage  of  their  adVenturous  progress  the 
mystery  of  this  vast  New  World  was  more  and  more  unveiled. 
More  and  more  they  entered  the  realms  of  spring.    The  hazy- 
sunlight,  the  warm  and  drowsy  air,  the  tender  foliage,  the 
opening  flowers,  betokened  the  reviving  life  of  Nature.     For 
several  days  more  they  followed  the  writhings  of  the  great 
river  on  its  course  through  wastes  of  swamp  and  cane-brake, 
till  they  found  themselves  wrapped  in  a  thick  fog.     Neither 
shore  was  visible  ;  but  they  heard  on  the  right  the  booming 
of  an  Indian  drum,  and  the  shrill  outcries  of  the  war-dance. 
La  Salle  at  once  crossed  to  the  opposite  side,  where,  in  less 
than  an  hour,  his  men  threw  up  a  rude  fort  of  felled  trees. 
Meanwhile  the  fog  cleared,  and  from  the  farther  bank  the 
astonished  Indians  saw  the  strange  visitors  at   their  work. 
Some  of  the  French  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  and 
beckoned  them  to  come  over.     Several  of  them  approached 
in  a  canoe   to  within  the  distance  of  a  gun-shot.    La  Salle 
displayed  the  calumet,  and  sent  a  Frenchman  to  meet  them. 
He  was  well  received  ;  and  the  friendly  mood  of  the  Indians 
being  now  apparent,  the  whole  party  crossed  the  river. 

70.  On  landing  they  found  themselves  at  a  town  of  the 
Kappa  band  of  the  Arkansas,  a  people  dwelling  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river  which  bears  their  name.    The  inhabitants  flocked 
about  them  with  eager  signs  of  welcome,  built  huts  for  them, 
brought  them  firewood,  gave  them  corn,  beans,  and  dried 
fruits,  and  feasted  them  for  three  days.     <  They  are  a  lively, 
civil,  generous  people/  says  one  of  the  missionaries  who  ac 
companied  the  expedition,  '  very  different  from  the  cold  and 
taciturn  Indians  of  the  North.'     They  showed,  indeed,  some 
slight  traces  of  a  tendency  towards  civilization  ;  for  domes 
tic  fowls  and  tame  geese  were  wandering  among  their  rude 
cabins  of  bark.     La  Salle  and  his  lieutenant,  at  the  head  of 
their  followers,  marched  to  the  open  area  ii}  tlie  midst  of  the 


46  Discoveries  and  Explorations.  1682 

village.  Here,  to  the  admiration  of  the  gazing  crowd  of  war 
riors,  women,  and  children,  a  cross  was  raised  bearing  the 
arms  of  France.  The  Frenchmen  shouted  Vive  le  Roi 
(veeve  lehr  rouah — long  livp  the  king)  ;  and  La  Salle,  in 
the  name  of  Louis  XIV.,  took  formal  possession  of  the 
country. 

*  71.  After  touching  at  several  other  towns  of  this  people, 
the  voyagers  resumed  their  course,  and  now,  on  the  sixth  of 
April,  they  are  near  their  journey's  end.  The  river  separat 
ed  itself  into  three  broad  channels.  One  division  of  the  party 
followed  that  of  the  west,  another  that  of  the  east,  while  the 
third  took  the  middle.  As  La  Salle  drifted  down  the  turbid 
current  between  the  low  and  marshy  shores,  the  brackish 
water  changed  to  brine,  and  the  breeze  grew  fresh  with  the 
salt  breath  of  the  sea.  Then  the  broad  bosom  of  the  great 
Gulf  opened  on  his  sight,  tossing  its  restless  billows,  limitless, 
voiceless,  lonely,  as  when  born  of  chaos,  without  a  sail,  with 
out  a  sign  of  life.  La  Salle,  in  a  canoe,  coasted  the  marshy 
borders  of  the  sea  ;  and  then  the  reunited  parties  assembled 
on  a  spot  of  dry  ground,  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of 
the  river. 

72.  Here  a  column  was  made  ready,  bearing  the  arms  of 
France;  and  while  the  New  England  Indians  and  their  squaws 
stood  gazing  in  wondering  silence,  the  Frenchmen  chanted  a 
song  of  the  church.  Then,  amid  volleys  of  musketry  and 
shouts  of  Vive  le  Roi,  La  Salle  planted  the  column  in  its 
place,  and  standing  near  it,  proclaimed  in  a  loud  voice,  in  the 
name  of  his  king,  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  that  he  took  '  pos 
session  of  all  this  country  of  Louisiana,  the  seas,  harbors, 
ports,  bays,  and  all  the  nations,  peoples,  provinces,  cities, 
towns,  villages,  mines,  minerals,  fisheries,  streams,  and  rivers, 
within  the  extent  of  the  said  Louisiana.'  Shouts  of  Vive  le 
Roi  and  volleys  of  musketry  responded  to  his  words.  Then 
a  cross  was  planted  beside  the  column.  On  that  day  the 
realm  of  France  received  on  parchment  a  stupendous  acces 
sion  ;  and  all  by  virtue  of  a  feeble  human  voice,  inaudible  at 
half  a  mile.  Louisiana  was  the  name  bestowed  by  La  Salle 


1682         How  the  Lands  were  disposed  of.  47 

on  the  new  domain  of  the  French  crown.  The  rule  of  the 
Bourbons  in  the  West  is  a  memory  of  the  past,  but  the  name 
of  the  Great  King  still  survives  in  a  narrow  corner  of  their 
lost  empire.  The  Louisiana  of  to-day  is  but  a  single  State  of 
the  American  Republic.  The  Louisiana  of  La  Salle  stretched 
from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Rocky  mountains  (1682)."  1 

73.  "  The  right  of  the  Indian  natives  to  the  soil  in  their 
possession  was  founded  in  nature.      Unfounded,  therefore,  as 
the  claims  of  European  sovereigns  to  America  were,  they  sev 
erally  proceeded  to  act  upon  them.     By  tacit  consent,  they 
decided    that    the    countries    which  each    explored   should 
be   the  property  of  the   explorer."     In  keeping 
with    this    law,  Spain  claimed   all  the    southern  iand?were 
part   of    North   America   from   ocean    to    ocean. 
The  French  claim  extended  from  the  Atlantic,  in  the  lati 
tude  of  Nova  Scotia,  westward  to  the  region  of  the  great 
lakes,  and  then  southward  through  the  entire  valley  of  the 
Mississippi.     England's  claim  embraced  all  the  country  from 
Labrador  to  Florida,  westward,  to  the  Pacific,  including  a  large 
tract  to  which  the  Dutch  possessed  a  title  by  reason  of  explo 
ration  and  settlement.2     It  would  be  impossible  to  make  a 
single  map  showing  these  several  claims,  inasmuch,  as  it  is 
seen,  they  lapped  over  one  another.     While,  then,  "  the  na 
tions  of  Europe  sported  with  the  rights  of  the  unoffending  na 
tives  of  America,  they  could  not,  it  is  evident,  agree  in  their 
respective  shares  of  the  common  spoils." 


1  La  Salle  never  carried  out  his  plan.  He  returned  to  Canada,  and 
thence  to  France,  where  he  was  received  with  great  honors.  Four  vessels 
were  given  to  him,  with  soldiers  and  settlers,  and  he  sailed  in  1684  to 
establish  a  settlement  on  the  Mississippi ;  but  instead  of  landing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  by  mistake  the  voyagers  passed  it,  and  landed  in 
Texas.  A  vain  search  by  land  was  afterward  made  for  the  river,  and, 
after  much  suffering  and  wandering,  La  Salle  was  treacherously  shot 
by  one  of  his  men  (1687). 

'2  The  Dutch  claim  was  founded  on  the  explorations  of  Henry  Hudson, 
an  Englishman,  sailing  in  the  service  of  the  "  Dutch  East  Indies  Com 
pany,"  who  (in  1609)  discovered  the  Hudson  river,  and  sailed  up  it  more 
thau  u  hundred  miles  (see  p.  80), 


48 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


SUMMARY. 
DISCOVERIES,  1492-1609. 


EUROPEAN  SOVEREIGNS. 


1492. 

America  was  discovered  "by  Columbus. 
Other  discoveries  followed  in  quick 
succession. 

English. 
Henry  VII. 

French. 
CharlesVIII. 

1497. 

The  Cabots,  for  England,  discovered 
North  America. 

« 

it 

1513. 
1513. 

De  Leon,  for  Spain,  discovered  Flor 
ida. 
Balboa,  for  Spain,  discovered  the  Pa 
cific  ocean. 

Henry  VIII. 

Louis  XII. 

1541. 
1609. 

De  Soto,  for   Spain,   discovered   the 
Mississippi  river. 
Hudson,   for  the  Dutch,   discovered 
the  Hudson  river. 

James  I. 

Francis  I. 
Henry  IV. 

Spain. 


England, 


France. 


Holland. 


CLAIMS. 

By  reason  of  the  discoveries  of  Columbus,  De  Leon> 
and  De  Soto,  and  the  explorations  of  Cortez,  Coronado, 
and  others,  Spain  claimed  the  southern  part  of  North 
America,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  northern 
limits  were  indefinite. 

By  reason  of  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots,  and  the 
explorations  of  Gosnold,  Smith,  and  Drake,  with  those 
made  by  the  expeditious  sent  by  Raleigh,  England 
claimed  all  the  heart  of  North  America — from  the  lati 
tude  of  Labrador  to  that  of  Florida — from  ocean  to  ocean. 

By  reason  of  the  discoveries  of  Cartier,  Champlain, 
and  others,  in  connection  with  the  explorations  of  ^lar- 
quette  and  La  Salle,  and  the  planting  of  military,  mis 
sionary,  and  trading  stations  at  different  points,  France 
claimed  the  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Ohio,  and 
Mississippi,  and  the  country,  including  the  islands,  in 
the  region  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

By  reason  of  the  discoveries  and  explorations  of 
Hudson,  tlie  Dutch  claimed  the  valley  of  the  Hudson, 
with  all  the  country  from  the  Connecticut  river,  and 
even  further  east,  to  Delaware  bay  on  the  south. 


Topical  Review. 


49 


TOPICS  FOR  REVIEW. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. — The  numbers  given  refer  to  the  pages  of  this  book. 
If,  in  the  estimation  of  the  teacher,  the  information  to  be  found  on  these 
pages  is  not  sufficient,  resort  must  be  had  to  cyclopaedias,  biographies, 
and  other  works.  The  topics  may  be  presented  by  the  pupils  as  verbal 
narratives,  or,  at  the  will  of  the  teacher,  as  written  exercises — com 
positions.  It  is  recommended  that  both  methods  be  pursued  in  alterna 
tion. 


Columbus. 


The  Cabots. 

De  Leon. 
Cortez. 


De  Soto. 
Ealeigh. 
Drake. 


La  Salle. 


(See  Model  following,  p.  50.  Irving's  Life  of 
Columbus  is  recommended  to  pupils  for  refer 
ence.)  -  18-24 

(See  Hay  ward's  Life  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  also  Bid- 
die's.)        .....-.-  30 
(See  Irving's  Companions  of  Columbus.)               -     32-34 
(He  died  in  Spain,  neglected  and  in  solitude,  in 
the  sixty -third  year  of  his  age.     See  Prescott's 
Conquest  of  Mexico.)       ....     Note  34,  37 
(See  Theodore  Irving's  Conquest  of  Florida.)       -      34-36 
(See  Edwards's  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.)       -           40 
(See  Knight's  History  of  England,  Vols.  IX.,  X.)     37-40 
(See  Shea's  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

Also  Sparks's  Life  of  Marquette.)     -  -     41-43 

(See  Sparks's  Life  of  La  Salle.)  -        -        -    -    -     43-47 


GEOGRAPHICAL.— 1.  Give  the  location  of  each    place.     2.  Give  the 
events  connected  with  each.     3.   State  other  facts  of  interest. 


Iceland 16 

Greenland 16 

San  Salvador 22 

Cuba 22 

St.  Domingo 22 

Labrador 30 

Isthmus  of  Darien 31 

Porto  Rico 32 

Florida...  ..33 


Mississippi  river 35 

Mexico 37 

California 37 

San  Francisco  bay 39 

Roanoke  island 40 

Virginia 40 

St.  Lawrence  river 41 

Nova  Scotia 41 

Hudson  river...  .  .47 


HISTORICAL. — 1.  State  when  the  event  occurred.  2.  Give  the  circum 
stances  leading  to  it.  3.  State  the  facts  connected  with  it.  4.  De 
scribe  the  effects  or  consequences  of  it.  When  the  nature  of  the 
topic  will  not  admit  of  this,  narrate  the  facts,  giving  them,  as  far  as 
possible,  in  chronological  order  ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  The  Indians 
or  The  Mound  Builders,  give  a  description. 


The  Northmen's  Discoveries. . .  .15 
Columbus's  Discovery  of   Amer 
ica 18-21 

The  Indians 25 

The  Mound  Builders 27 

Discovery  of  the  Pacific 30,  31 

First  Voyage  around  the  World. 31 


Discovery  of  Florida 32 

De  Soto's  Expedition 34 

The  Second  Voyage  around  the 

World 37 

French  Explorations 39 

Marquette's  Expedition 41 

La  Salle's  Expedition 43 


50 


Discoveries  and  Explorations. 


MODEL    FOR    A    WRITTEN    EXERCISE. 
CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 


His 
early  life. 


His 

great  theory. 


His 

efforts 
for  aid. 


His 
voyages 

and 
discoveries. 


While  we  know  that  Columbus  was  born  in  Italy,  we 
are  not  quite  certain  as  to  the  exact  place  of  his  birth. 
After  his  fame  began  to  spread,  several  places  in  Italy 
claimed  him  as  a  native,  but  it  is  generally  believed 
that  to  Genoa  belongs  the  coveted  honor.  The  year  of 
his  birth  is  also  in  doubt,  nor  has  any  writer  been  able 
to  solve  the  uncertainty  so  as  to  leave  no  shadow  upon 
the  conclusion.  Irving  cautiously  says  he  was  born 
"about  the  year  1435."  His  father,  who  was  a  wool- 
comber,  was  poor,  it  is  supposed,  though  the  son  was 
sent  to  good  schools,  and  gained  a  knowledge  of  geome 
try,  geography,  astronomy,  navigation,  and  the  Latin 
language,  besides  the  common  branches.  He  soon  be 
gan  to  love  the  sea,  and  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen 
made  his  first  voyage.  This  was  followed  by  many 
others.  Taking  up  his  residence  in  Portugal,  he  there 
married  the  daughter  of  a  man  who  had  gained  some 
reputation  as  a  navigator  and  map-maker. 

India  was  a  rich  country  even  in  those  early  days,  but 
the  merchants  of  Italy,  who  traded  with  it,  had  no  way 
of  reaching  it  except  by  the  Red  sea  or  overland  through 
Asia.  No  other  route  was  then  known.  Columbus  be 
lieved  there  was  a  shorter  way  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Of  course,  he  had  no  idea  that  another  conti 
nent  was  in  the  way  and  would  therefore  stop  him,  nor 
had  he  any  idea  that  the  earth  was  so  large. 

He  wanted  to  make  an  effort  to  reach  India,  accord 
ing  to  his  theory,  by  sailing  westward  from  Europe,  but 
he  was  too  poor  to  build  or  buy  the  necessary  vessels. 
So  he  applied  for  aid  to  Genoa  ;  then,  receiving  no  en 
couragement,  to  Portugal.  Here,  again,  he  was  unsuc 
cessful.  Then  he  applied  to  Spain  ;  and,  after  years  of 
waiting,  solicitation,  anxiety,  and  poverty,  the  Spanish 
queen,  Isabella,  generously  offered  to  sell  her  jewels  in 
order  to  raise  the  money  for  the  purchase  of  a  fleet. 
This  offer  was  the  turning-point,  for  it  shamed  the  pub 
lic  treasurer  into  advancing  the  needed  funds. 

Three  small  vessels  were  fitted  out,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1492  they  sailed  from  the  little  port  of  Palosin  Spain. 
At  the  Canary  islands  a  brief  stop  was  made.  Again  the 
vessels  put  to  sea.  It  was  difficult  for  Columbus  to- pro- 


Topical  Review. 


51 


ceed,  for  he  had  no  such  excellent  instruments  to  aid 
him  as  are  now  in  use  among  navigators.  He  did  not 
know  how  to  account  for  the  variation  in  the  needle,  and 
his  sailors  became  alarmed.  But  he  kept  on  with  heroic 
resolution,  and,  on  a  bright  morning  in  October,  was  re 
warded  with  a  sight  of  land.  The  island  first  seen  is  a 
little  one  north  of  Cuba.  He  called  it  San  Salvador. 
His  landing  was  effected  with  great  ceremony,  while  the 
friendly  natives,  perfectly  naked,  looked  on,  believing 
that  their  visitors  were  from  heaven.  Other  islands 
were  discovered,  among  them  the  large  ones  of  Cuba  and 
Hayti.  Leaving  some  men,  as  the  beginning  of  a  colony, 
at  Hayti,  he  returned  to  Spain,  where  he  was  received 
amid  great  rejoicings.  Columbus  made  three  more  voy 
ages,  and  discovered  other  islands  and  even  the  main 
land  of  South  America,  bat  he  never  for  a  moment  sus 
pected  that  these  lands  belonged  to  a  New  World.  He 
thought  they  were  the  outlying  islands  of  Asia. 

We  read  of  "  Columbus  in  Irons  "  and  wonder  what  The 

it  means.     What  had  Columbus  done  that  he  should  be  j       disgrace 
so  cruelly  treated  ?     Who  put  him  in  irons  ?     It  seems  put 

that  while  he  was  making  his  third  visit  to  America  his  upon  Mm. 
enemies  were  busy  in  Spain  ;  for  he,  like  many  eminent 
men  before  his  time  and  since,  had  incurred  the  envy  of 
others.  Even  Washington,  good  and  great  as  he  was, 
had  enemies.  The  enemies  of  Columbus  made  the  king 
and  queen  of  Spain  believe  that  he  was  treating  the 
Spaniards  in  America  with  great  injustice  and  cruelty  ; 
and  a  person  was  consequently  sent  to  inquire  into  the 
facts.  This  person  was  also  clothed  with  certain 
authority,  but,  instead  of  doing  as  he  was  instructed, 
he  made  a  prisoner  of  Columbus  and  sent  him  home  in 
irons.  When  Columbus  arrived  in  Spain  and  the  people 
saw  him — the  great  navigator  who  had  opened  the  doors 
of  wealth  to  them — saw  him  with  iron  chains  fastened 
upon  his  arms,  the}1"  were  moved  with  sorrow  and  indig 
nation.  Queen  Isabella  ordered  the  chains  to  be  re 
moved,  and  she  and  the  king  gave  Columbus  a  kind 
reception. 

So,  ignorant  to  the  last  that  "  he  had  given  a  new  His 

continent  to  the  world,"  and  when  his  best  friend,  Isa-         death  and 
bella,  was  no  more,  and  he  was  suffering  n'eglect  and  burial, 

poverty,  Columbus  died.  This  event  took  place  in  a  little 
town  in  Spain,  when  he  was  about  seventy  years  of  age. 
His  body  was  at  first  deposited  in  a  convent,  where  it  was 
allowed  to  rest  seven  years,  then  it  was  taken  to  a  monas 
tery  in  another  town.  Twenty-three  years  later  it  was 
transported  to  one  of  the  great  islands  he  had  discov 
ered — tnat  of  Hayti  ;  and  here  surely  his  remains  would 
be  permitted  to  rest  forever!  Not  so.  In  1796,  nearly 
three  hundred  years  after  his  death,  they  were  conveyed, 
with  imposing  ceremonies,  to  the  island  of  Cuba,  and 
there,  in  the  cathedral  of  Havana,  they  still  repose. 


ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA. 

IN  the  fifteenth  century  came  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe.     This 

brought  a  rivalry  in  efforts  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  geography  and 

increase  the  commerce  of  the  world.     The  great  problem  of 

iSsS-isoJ'  the  a»e  was  to  reach  India  by  sea-    In  the  a°e  Just  fadin& 
*  out  those  who  sailed  ships  crept  timidly  along  the  coast,  or, 

if  they  ventured  out  of  sight  of  land,  had  only  the  sun  by  day  and  the 
stars  by  night  to  steer  by.  The  period  in  which  Columbus  lived  showed 
great  improvements  in  navigation.  In  the  new  mariner's  compass  the 
magnetic  needle  was  beginning  to  be  depended  upon,  better  sea-charts 
were  prepared,  and  valuable  additions  were  made  to  the  instrument  for 
reckoning  latitude.  It  was  now  possible  for  the  navigator  losing  sight  of 
land  to  ascertain  the  position  of  his  ship  and  tell  the  direction  in  which 
she  should  be  steered.  When  Columbus  made  his  great  discovery, 
Henry  had  been  on  the  throne  of  England  seven  years  and  had  yet 
eighteen  years  of  kingly  life  to  live.  Scotland  was  not  yet  a  part  of  the 
British  realm.  It  was  still  an  independent  power  with  James  IV.  at  its 
head.  None  of  the  vast  domain  in  France  known  as  Normandy,  except 
a  small  strip  of  land  on  which  Calais  stood,  was  any  longer  an  English 
possession.  It  had  passed  to  the  control  of  France  more  than  forty  years 
before.  It  has  been  asserted  that  Columbus,  long  before  Isabella  of 
Spain  consented  to  aid  him,  had  sent  one  of  his  brothers  to  Henry  VII. 
of  England  with  an  offer  similar  to  the  one  made  to  Spain,  but  our  infor 
mation  on  this  point  is  very  meagre.  We  know,  however,  that  Henry 
wrote  to  Columbus  in  1488,  inviting  him  to  England  and  holding  out 
promises  of  encouragement.  The  news  of  the  great  discovery  made  by 
Columbus  produced  among  the  English  people  a  feeling  of  deep  regret 
that  the  great  navigator  had  not  made  his  voyage  under  their  flag.  This 
feeling  prevailing,  it  was  not  difficult  for  Henry  to  encourage  navigation 
and  discovery  if  such  encouragement  should  be  without  expense  to  him 
self.  John  Cabot's  petition  therefore  met  with  favor,  and  to  him  and 
his  three  sons  the  king  issued  a  commission  to  sail  at  their  own  cost  and 
charge  with  five  ships,  upon  condition  that  the  king  should  have  one 
fifth  part  of  their  gains.  John  Cabot's  discovery  of  the  mainland  of  the 
New  World  precedes  that  of  Columbus  more  than  a  year,  and  Amerigo 
Vespucci's  more  than  two  years  (p.  30).  The  year  1498  stands  out  con 
spicuously  in  the  annals  of  navigation :  Da  Gama,  for  Portugal,  sailing 
around  the  southern  point  of  Africa  reached  India  by  sea,  thus  solving 
the  problem  of  the  age;  Columbus  discovered  South  America;  and  one  of 
John  Cabot's  sons  explored  a  large  part  of  the  North  American  coast. 

This  king,  the  second  but  only  surviving  son  of  Henry  VII. ,  was  a 
Catholic  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he  so  gained  the  approbation  of  the 
ope  (Leo  X.)  by  writing  a  book  against  the  doctrines  of 
.  u.tlier  that  he  was  awarded  the  title  of  "Defender  of  the 
Faith."  He  afterwards,  however,  quarrelled  with  the  pope 
(Clement  VII.)  because  the  latter  would  not  sanction  his  divorce  from  his 
wife  Catharine.  Henry  then  threw  off  his  allegiance  to  the  pope,  and,  by 
acts  of  Parliament,  the  English  Church  was  established.  Beyond  an 
attempt  to  find  a  northwest  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  (in 
1527),  no  westward  expeditions  were  made  by  the  English.  Their  foreign 
commerce  was  mostly  confined  to  the  Netherlands.  Their  first  mer 
chant  ship  reached  India  the  same  year  in  which  Parliament  for  the  first 
time  favored  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  Spaniards  under 
De  Soto  discovered  the  Mississippi  (1541),  Eminent  men, — Cardinal 


England  and  America.  515 


Wolsey,  Sir  Thomas  More,  Henry  Howard  (Earl  of  Surrey),  William 
Tyndall,  and  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt. 

The  son  of  Henry  VIII.  by  his  third  wife,  Jane  Seymour,  succeeded  to 
the  throne.     During  his  reign  the  first  attempt  was  made  to  find  a  north- 
Ed          vi  east  Passa£e  (tnat  ig>  around  the  northern  part  of  Europe 
1547^1*553.'  and  Asia)  to  China.     The  farthest  point  reached  was  Arch 
angel,  a  port  in  Russia.     Spitzbergen  was  discovered,  but 
was  then  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  Greenland. 

Mary  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  VIII.  by  his  first  wife,  Catharine. 

She  was  a  Catholic,  and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  her  reign  was  to  restore 

the  religion  of  that  church.     She  married  Philip  II.  of 

15^53  ri558.  Spain,  and  having  engaged  in  a  war  with  France  to  please 

her  husband,  lost  Calais,  "the  brighest  jewel  in  her  crown," 

the  last  English  possession  on  the  Continent.     The  port  of  Archangel 

having  been  discovered,  a  trade  with  Russia  was  begun. 

This  queen  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  VIII.  by  his  second  wife, 
Anne  Boleyn.  The  laws  for  the  establishment  of  the  English  Church, 
which  had  been  enacted  during  Edward's  reign  but  abro- 
1558  1603.  gated  during  Mary's,  were  again  enacted.  The  Puritans, 
largely  composed  of  English  Protestants,  who  had  been  in 
exile  in  Switzerland  and  Germany  during  Mary's  reign,  contended  for 
greater  changes  in  religious  forms  and  doctrines.  The  Pilgrims  (p.  61) 
formed  their  first  church  organization  under  the  preaching  and  teaching 
of  Robert  Brown  (1581).  John  Knox  completed  what  is  known  in 
history  as  the  "Reformation  in  Scotland."  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
whose  subjects  had  rebelled  against  her,  fled  to  England,  where,  after 
being  held  a  captive  by  Elizabeth  more  than  eighteen  years,  she  was 
executed.  In  the  contest  between  the  Netherlands  and  Spain,  Elizabeth 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  former;  in  consequence  Philip,  of  Spain,  sent 
an  immense  fleet,  known  as  the  "Invincible  Armada,"  to  invade  Eng 
land.  It  was  attacked  and  defeated  with  terrible  destruction  by  a  fleet 
under  Lord  Howard,  assisted  by  the  renowned  captains  Drake,  Frobisher, 
Hawkins,  and  Raleigh  (1588).  Trade  with  the  west  coast  of  Africa  was 
begun;  from  thirty  to  fifty  English  fishing  ships  came  annually  to  the 
bays  and  banks  of  Newfoundland  ;  tobacco  and  potatoes  were  in 
troduced  into  England  from  America;  Drake,  while  making  a  voyage 
around  the  world,  explored  the  coast  of  New  Albion  (California  and 
Oregon);  and  Frobisher  and  Davis  endeavored  to  find  a  northwest 
passage  to  the  Pacific.  The  attempts  to  provide  an  asylum  in  Carolina 
and  Florida  for  the  persecuted  Huguenots  (p.  96)  were  followed  by  the 
efforts  of  Gilbert  to  plant  a  settlement  on  Newfoundland,  and  by 
Raleigh's  to  plant  a  colony  in  Carolina  (pp.  40,  98).  Gosnold  was  the 
first  Englishman  to  tread  upon  the  soil  of  New  England  (p.  60) ;  and 
though  the  French,  under  Huguenot  leaders,  and  the  English,  under 
Raleigh,  Gilbert,  and  Gosnold,  had  made  great  exertions  to  establish 
colonies  in  America,  at  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign — more  than  a 
hundred  years  after  Columbus  first  crossed  the  Atlantic — there  was  not 
so  much  as  one  European  family  between  Florida  and  Hudson's  Bay. 
The  few  Spaniards  who  had  driven  the  Huguenots  from  Florida  and  were 
in  turn  driven  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  out  of  the  small  fort  at  St.  Augus 
tine,  into  which  they  had  crowded  (1586),  but  were  still  lingering  in 
Florida,  were,  besides  their  countrymen  in  Mexico,  the  only  people  not 
Indians  in  all  the  continent  of  North  America.  The  eminent  men,  were 
Sir  Edward  Coke,  Bacon,  Shakspeare,  Spenser,  and  Raleigh. 


52  Virginia. 


SECTION   II. 


COLONIAL    PEBIOD. 


Virginia, 

1.  The  English  claim  to  terrri to ry  in  America  had  for  its 
principal   foundation   stone   the    discoveries  of   the  Cabots, 
By  virtue  of  this  claim,  James  I.   granted  to  an  association 
of  "noblemen,  gentlemen,  and  merchants,"  known  as  the 
London  company,  "  the  exclusive  right  to  occupy  the  regions 
from  thirty-four  to  thirty-eight  degrees  of  north  latitude  ;" 
and,    to   an   association  of  "  knights,   gentlemen,   and    mer 
chants/'  known  as  the  Plymouth  company,  an  equal  right  to 
the  regions  from  forty-one  to  forty-five  degrees.     "  Collision 
was  not  probable,  for  each  company  was  to  possess  the   soil 
extending  fifty  miles  north  and  south  of  its  first  settlement, 
so  that  neither  might  plant  within  one  hundred  miles  of  its 
rival."     The  northern  regions  were  called  North  Virginia  ; 
the  southern,  South  Virginia. 

2.  "  The  London  company  spent  several  months  in  prepa 
rations  for  planting  a  colony.     At  length  three  vessels,  fitted 
out  under  the  command  of  Captain  Christopher   Newport, 
a   navigator   experienced,  in    voyages    to    the    New   World, 
sailed   from   England.      After  passing   three   weeks   in   the 

Settlement  West  Indies,  they  sailed   in  quest  of  Roanoke  isl- 
of         and  ;  and,  having  exceeded  their  reckoning  three 
a'  days    without    finding  land,  the   crew   grew   im 
patient.      At    this    juncture,    a  violent    storm,   compelling 
them  to  scud  all  night  under  bare  poles,  providentially  drove 
them  into  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  bay.      The   first   laud 
they  came  in  sight  of  they  called  Cape  Henry,  in  honor  of  the 


1607  Settlement  of  Jamestown.  53 

Prince  of  Wales,  eldest  son  of  King  James,  as  the  opposite 
point,  Cape  Charles,  was  named  after  the  king's  second  son, 
then  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  Charles  the  First. 

3.  A  party  of  twenty  or  thirty,  with  Newport,  landing  here, 
found  a  variety  of  pretty  flowers   and   goodly  trees.     While 
recreating  themselves  on  the  shore,  they  were  attacked  by  five 
savages,  who  came  creeping  upon  all  fours  from  the  hills  like 
bears,  and  with  their  arrows  wounded  two,  but  retired  at  the 
discharge  of  muskets.     Seventeen  days  were  spent  in  quest  of 
a  place  for  the  settlement.     A  point  on  the  western  side  of 
the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  bay  they  named  Point  Comfort, 
because  they  found  a  good  harbor  there,  which,  after  the  re 
cent  storm,  put  them  in  good  comfort. 

4.  On  the  8th  of  May  (1607),  the  colonists  went  farther 
up  the  river  to  the  country  of  the  Ap-po-mat'-tocks,who  came 
forth  to  meet  them  in  a  most  warlike  manner,  with  bows  and 
arrows,  and  formidable  war  clubs  ;  but  the  whites,  making 
signs  of  peace,  were  suffered  to  land  unmolested.     At  length 
they  selected  for  the  site  of  the  colony  a  peninsula  lying  on 
the  north  side  of  the  James  river,  about  forty  miles  from  its 
mouth.     The  western  end  of  this  peninsula,  where  it  is  con 
nected  by  a  little  isthmus  with  the  main  land,  was  the  spot 
pitched  upon  for  the  erection  of  a  town,  which  was  named, 
in    honor    of    the    king,    Jamestown.      This  was   the   first 
permanent    settlement    effected   by   the   English    in   North 
America.1 

5.  Upon  landing,  the  council  to  govern  the  colony  took  the 
oath  of  office.     Wingfield,  a   member   of   the  council,  was 
elected  president.     John  Smith,  another   member,   was   ex 
cluded  from  the  council  upon  some  false  pretences.     Dean 
Swift  says  :  '  When  a  great  genius  appears  in  the  world,  the 
dunces  are  all  in  confederacy  against  him. '     All  hands  fell  to 

1  The  first  permanent  settlement  made  by  Europeans  within  the  pres 
ent  limits  of  the  United  States  was  made  by  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augus 
tine,  Florida,  in  1565.  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  is  also  a  very  old  city. 
"  When  first  visited  by  the  Spaniards,  about  1542,  it  was  a  populous  Indian 
pueblo,  When  it  was  first  settled  by  the  Spaniards  is  not 


54  Virginia.  1607 

work,  the  council  planning  a  fort,  the  rest  clearing  ground 
for  pitching  tents,  preparing  clapboards  for  freighting  the 
vessels,  laying  off  gardens,  and  making  fishing-nets. 

6.  On  the  fourth  of  June,  New 
port,  Smith  (restored  to  his  position 
in  the  council),  and  twenty  others 
were  dispatched  to  discover  the 
head  of  the  river  on  which  they 
had  located  their  settlement.  This 
stream  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Pow-ha-tan',  and  by  the  English 
the  James  river.  The  natives  every- 
where  received  the  strangers  kind 
ly,  feasting  them  with  fish,  straw- 

JOHN  SMITH.  -i  T  n  •  i>  1-1 

berries,  and  mulberries,  tor  which 

Newport  requited  them  with  bells,  pins,  needles,  and  looking- 
glasses,  which  so  pleased  them  that  they  danced  before  their 
guests  and  followed  them  from  place  to  place.  In  six  days 
they  reached  a  town  called  Powhatan,  one  of  the  seats  of  the 
great  chief  of  that  name,  whom  they  found  there.  It  con 
sisted  of  twelve  wigwams,  pleasantly  situated  on  a  bold  range 
of  hills  overlooking  the  river,  with  three  inlets  in  front  and 
many  cornfields  around.  This  picturesque  spot  lies  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  river,  about  a  mile  below  the  falls,  and  still 
retains  the  same  name." 

7.  The  men  sent  out  were  but  poorly  fitted  to  settle  in  a 
wild  country.  Of  the  number,  only  twelve  were  laborers. 
"There  were  forty-eight  gentlemen  to  four  carpenters." 
Quarrels  occurred,  the  provisions  were  spoiled,  the  natives 

Character  ^ecame'  hostile,  and  sickness  prevailed.  In  less 
of  the  than  four  months  fifty  men,  "one  half  of  the 
3  s'  colony,"  were  carried  to  the  grave,  among  them 
being  Bartholomew  Gosnold.  The  president  of  the  coun 
cil,  accused  of  dishonest  acts,  was  deposed,  and  his  suc 
cessor,  "possessing  neither  judgment  nor  industry,  the 
management  of  affairs  fell  into  the  hands  of  Smith,  whose 


1610  The  Starving  Time.  55 

buoyant  spirit  of  heroic  daring  diffused  light  amidst  the  gen 
eral  gloom.  To  his  vigor,  industry,  and  resolution,  the  survi 
val  of  the  colony  is  due." 

8.  In  an  open  boat,  Smith  made  several  voyages,  sailing 
more  than  two  thousand  miles  in  exploring  Chesapeake  bay 
and  the  rivers  that  flow  into  it.     While  on  one  of  these  ex 
cursions,  he  was  made  a  prisoner  by  the  Indians, 

«,     ,    ,  ,    ,  .      ,.„  *  ,.     ,      .  ,     '  John  Smith, 

but   he   saved   his   life   by  displaying  a  pocket 

compass  and  explaining  its  properties  to  the  savage  chief." 
The  first  printed  notice  of  this  adventure  in  England 
"  made  famous  the  name  of  Po-ca-hon'-tas,  the  daughter 
of  Powhatan,  a  girl  of  ten  or  twelve  years  old.  This  child, 
to  whom  in  later  days  Smith  attributed  his  rescue  from 
death  by  the  club  of  an  Indian,  often  afterward  came  to  the 
fort  with  her  companions,  bringing  baskets  of  corn  for  the 
garrison." 

9.  New  settlers  came,   "  yet  the  joy  in  Virginia  on  the 
arrival  of  the  first  recruits  was  of    short  continuance,  for 
they  were  chiefly  vagabond  gentlemen  and  goldsmiths  who 
thought  it  impossible  to  thrust  a  shovel  into  the      The  gold 
soil,  without  bringing  up  a  lump  of  gold.     In  a    excitement, 
small  rivulet  near  Jamestown  was  found  a  glittering,  yellow 
ish  sand,  which  they  immediately  believed  to  be  gold.     This 
became  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  thought  and  discourse,  and 
there  was  now  no  talk,  no  hope,  no  work,  but  dig  gold,  wash 
gold,   refine  gold,   load  gold.      The  unskilful   refiners   pro 
nounced  this  shining  sand  to  be  very  valuable  gold,  forgetting 
that  *  all  that  glitters  is  not  gold.'     This,  of  course,  carried 
the  frenzy  to  its  height  ;  and  nothing  would  content  Newport 
but  the  freighting  of  his  ship  with  the  worthless  trash." 

10.  A  new  charter  conferring  greater  privileges  was  ob 
tained   by    the  London  company,  and  Lord  Delaware  was 
appointed  governor.     Before,  however,  the  arrival        Th 

of  Delaware,  Smith,  who  had  been  president  of    starving 
the  council  nearly  two  years,  was  wounded  by  the  e> 

accidental  explosion  of  a  bag  of  gunpowder  while  he  was  sleep- 


56  Virginia. 


ing  in  his  boat,  and  was  .  compelled  to  embark  for  England, 
"  never  to  see  Virginia  again."  x  There  were  nearly  five  hun 
dred  men  in  the  colony  when  he  left ;  but  "  in  six  months, 
indolence,  vice,  and  famine  reduced  the  number  to  sixty, 
and  these  were  so  feeble  and  dejected  that  if  relief  had  been 
delayed  but  ten  days  longer,  they  also  would  have  perished 
(1610)." 

11.  Under  Lord  Delaware,  who  was  a  prudent  and  kind- 
hearted  man,  the  colony  prospered.     "  At  the  beginning  of 
the  day  they  assembled  in  the  little  church,  which  was  kept 

neatly  trimmed  with  the  wild  flowers  of  the  coun- 

Dehiware's  ^rJ  >  nex^  they  returned  to  their  homes  to  receive 

administra-  their   allowance    of  food.  .  The  settled  hours  of 

labor,  the  work  being  done  in  common,  were  from 

six  in  the  morning  till  ten,  and  from  two  in  the  afternoon  till 

four."  Unfortunately,  Lord  Delaware  was  soon  compelled  by 

ill-health  to  return  to  England,  leaving  his  colony  to  be  ruled 

by  a  deputy.     At  this  time  a  majority  of  the  colonists  were 

Episcopalians.      All   persons   of   other   denominations   were 

looked  upon  as  Dissenters.     From  England  the  settlers  for 

many  years  received  their  clergy,  and  to  England  they  sent 

their  sons  to  be  educated. 

12.  A  trading  party,  headed  by  Argall,  an  English  adven 
turer,  made  several  voyages  up  the  Potomac.     While  engaged 

Marria  e    *n  one  °^  these,  Argall  "  persuaded  an  Indian  chief 
of         to  betray  Pocahontas  into  his  hands,  to  be  kept 
11  as'  at  Jamestown  as  a  ransom  for  the  return  of  Eng 
lishmen  held  in  captivity  by  her  father.     For  the  sake  of  her 

1  Smith  had  traveled  through  a  large  part  of  Europe,  and  had  passed  a 
very  adventurous  life.  He  had  fought  against  the  Turks  ;  had  been 
captured  in  battle,  and  made  a  slave  ;  had  been  rescued  from  slavery 
through  the  compassion  of  his  Turkish  mistress,  and  had  been  sent  by 
her  to  Russia,  where  he  was  treated  as  a  serf.  Rising  against  his  task 
master,  he  slew  him,  and  fled  from  the  country.  Thence,  in  search 
of  new  adventures  and  dangers,  he  went  to  Morocco  ;  and  at  length  re 
turned  to  England  in  time  to  embark  in  the  enterprise  of  settling  the 
New  World.  In  making  his  explorations  in  the  Virginia  waters,  ho 
sailed,  by  his  own  computation,  about  8,000  miles.  (See  page  00.) 


1614  Tobacco.  67 

liberation,  Powhatan  set  free  his  English  captives.  During 
the  period  of  her  stay  at  Jamestown,  John  Rolfe  (rolf),  '  an 
honest  and  discreet'  young  Englishman,  daily,  hourly,  and, 
as  it  were,  in  his  very  sleep,  heard  a 
voice  crying  in  his  ears  that  he 
should  strive  to  make  her  a  Chris 
tian.  After  a  great  struggle  of 
mind,  and  daily  and  believing  pray 
ers,  he  resolved  to  labor  for  the 
conversion  of  the  '  un regenerated 
maiden ; '  and,  winning  the  favor 
of  Pocahontas,  he  desired  her  in 
— riage. 

18.  The  youthful  princess  re 
ceived  instruction  with  docility ; 
and  soon,  in  the  little  church  at 

Jamestown,  which  rested  on  rough  pine  columns,  fresh  from 
the  forest,  she  stood  before  the  font,  that  out  of  the  trunk  of 
a  tree  *  had  been  hewn  hollow  like  a  canoe,  openly  renounced 
her  country's  idolatry,  professed  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  was  baptized.  The  gaining  of  this  one  soul,  the  first 
fruit  of  Virginia  conversion/  was  followed  by  her  nuptials 
with  Rolfe.  The  immediate  result  of  this  event  to  the  colony 
was  a  confirmed  peace  with  Powhatan."  1 

14.  At  first  the  settlers  cultivated  the  soil  in  common  ; 
but  this  did  not  promote  industry,  and  it  was  found  best  to 
give  each  man  a  few  acres  to  till  for  himself.     Soon  the  cul 
tivation  of  tobacco  began  in  good  earnest.     Then 
xi  mi      o  i  -,      ,-,         Tobacco, 

there  were  no  more  gold-seekers.     The  fields,  the 

gardens,  the  squares,  and  even  the  streets  of  Jamestown 
were  planted  with  tobacco.  As  early  as  the  year  1610,  to- 

1  Three  years  after  her  marriage,  Pocahontas  was  taken  to  England 
by  her  husband,  where  she  was  received  as  a  princess,  being  presented  at 
court,  and  treated  with  marked  attention  by  all  classes.  When  about  to 
return  to  her  native  land,  she  suddenly  died  (in  1017),  leaving  a  son 
from  whom  are  descended  the  Boiling,  Randolph,  Fleming,  and  other 
families  in  Virginia. 


58  Virginia.  1620 

bacco  was  in  general  use  in  England.  The  manner  of  using 
it  was  partly  to  inhale  the  smoke  and  blow  it  out  through 
the  nostrils  ;  and  this  was  called  "  drinking  tobacco." 

15.  The  Virginia  tobacco  was  imported  into  England  in 
the  leaf,  in  bundles  ;  and  was  sometimes  called  the  "American 
silver- weed. "    Bancroft  says  :  "  It  was  generally  used  instead 
of  coin.     Taxes  were  paid  in  tobacco  ;  remittances  to  Europe 
were  made  in  tobacco  ;  the  revenue  of  the  clergy,  the  magis 
trates,  and  the  colony,  was  collected  in  the  same  currency. 
The  colonial  tradesman  received  his  pay  in  straggling  parcels 
of  it;    and  ships  from  abroad  were   obliged   to    lie  whole 
months  in  the  river,  before  boats,  visiting  the  plantations  on 
their  banks,  could  pick  up  a  cargo."     Up  to  1619,  the  plan 
tations  were  cultivated  by  the  settlers,  most  of  the  laborers 
being  "  apprenticed  servants."     In  that  year  a  Dutch  vessel 
sailed  up  the  James  river  and  landed  twenty  negroes,  who 
were  sold  as  slaves.     This  was  the  beginning  of  negro  slavery 
in  the  English  colonies. 

16.  As  yet  there  were  but  few  families  iirthe  colony,  and 
most  of  the  men  intended  in  time  to  return  to  England. 

Encouraged  by  the  London  company,  ninety 
y°un£  women  of  good  reputation  embarked  for 
Virginia.  These  met  with  a  favorable  reception, 
and  were  "  married  to  the  tenants  of  the  company  or 
to  men  who  were  able  to  support  them,"  each  man  giving 
for  his  wife  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  tobacco,  the 
price  of  her  passage  to  Virginia  (1620).  A  second  emigration 
met  with  even  greater  favor,  the  price  paid,  in  some  cases,. 
exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco.  Domes 
tic  ties  soon  bound  the  settlers  to  their  new  homes. 

17.  The  London  company  procured  another  charter — their 
third — which  gave  them   greater    privileges.      Still  the  re- 

Vir  inia  ^urns  fr°m  the  colony  did  not  satisfy  them  ;  and 
a  royal  the  Indians,  on  two  occasions,  massacred  hundreds 
colony.  of  tlie  settlerg>  At  lagt  the  king?  James  Lj  dig. 

pleased  with  the  freedom  of  speech  indulged  in  at  the  public 


1676  Bacorts  Rebellion.  69 

meetings  of  the  company,  took  the  affairs  of  the  colony  into 
his  own  hands,  his  excuse  being  that  the  disasters  were  the 
result  of  bad  government  (1620). 

18.  Virginia  thus  became  a  royal  province,  her  governors 
receiving  their  appointment  from   the  king.       Nearly  fifty 
years  later,  all  the  "  dominion  of  land  and  water  called  Vir 
ginia"  was  ceded  by  Charles  II.  to  Lord  Culpep- 

per  and  the  Earl  of  Arlington  "  for  the  term  of 
thirty-one  years. "    This  act  exasperated  the  inhab 
itants,  who  already  had  become  dissatisfied  because  Berkeley, 
their  governor,  had  carried  out  with  great  severity  the  offen 
sive   royal   instructions  in   relation  to  commerce,  taxes,  the 
privileges  of  voting,  and  church  worship. 

19.  The  people  wanted  but  an  excuse  for    appearing  in 
arms,  and  this  was  soon  found  in  an  invasion  made  by  the 
Susquehanna  Indians.     The  struggle  for  popular  liberty  that 
ensued  is  known  as  "  Bacon's  Kebellion."     In  that  struggle 
the  little  village  of  Jamestown  was  destroyed  by  fire.     Tne 
people  were  in  the  full  tide  of  success,  when,  suddenly,  then- 
leader,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  sickened  and  died,   leaving  them 
without  a  head  (1676).     Berkeley  caused  twenty-two  of  them 
to  be  hung  ;  and  for  this  cruel  and  vindictive  conduct  he  was 
recalled  by  the  king,  who  exclaimed  as  he  did  so  :  "  The  old 
fool  has  taken  away  more  lives  in  that  naked  country  than  I, 
for  the  murder  of  my  father."  1 


New  England. 

1.  In  the  history  of  the  struggle  to  plant  a  lasting  settle 
ment  at  Jamestown  are  the  names  of  two  men  whose  good 
sense,  honesty,  and  enterprise  commend  them  to  all  who 
read  the  interesting  story.  These  are  of  Smith  and  Gos- 


1  Charles  I.  was  tried  on  a  charge  of  treason  to  his  people,  was  pro 
nounced  guilty,  and  beheaded  (1649).  His  son,  Charles  II.,  on  becoming 
king,  showed  moderation  and  clemency  (1660-1G85). 


60  New  England.  1602-20 

nold  ;  and  to  these  two  men,  more  than  to  any  other  two, 
is  the  first  success  of  that  struggle  due.  These  have  also 

honorable  records  in  the  early  history  of  New  Eng- 
expl^ations.  land<  Gosnold,  Before  going  to  Virginia,  .crossed 

the  Atlantic  in  a  small  bark,  explored  a  large 
part  of  the  coast  from  Maine  southward,  discovered  Cape 
Cod,  and  "  well-nigh  secured  to  New  England  the  honor  of 
the  first  permanent  English  settlement"  (1602). 

2.  Smith,   a  few   years  later  and  after  leaving  Virginia, 
sailed  with  two  ships,  examined  with  care  most  of  the  coast 
that  Gosnold  had  previously  seen,  prepared  a  map  of  his  ex 
plorations,  and  gave  to  the  country  the  name  by  which  it  has 
ever  since  been  known,   that  of  New  England.      Unfortu 
nately,   a  terrible   blot   was  cast    upon  the  expedition,   for 
which,  however,  its  commander  was  in  no  wise  to  blame. 
After   Smith's   departure   for   England,  the   master   of  the 
second  ship  kidnapped  several  Indians,  and,  sailing  to  Europe, 
sold  them  to  the  Spaniards  as  slaves. 

3.  But  we  are  anticipating  events.     It  will  be  recollected 
that  King  James  granted  to  two  companies  a  large  part  of 
the  vast  region  that  had  been  discovered  by  the  Cabots.     We 

have  shown  how  the  beginning  of  settlement  was 

English     made  in    the    southern    portion   of   this  region. 

settlement  Under  the  charter  to  the  Plymouth  company,  a 

colony,  with  George  Popham  as  its  president,  was 
planted  in  the  northern  portion,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ken- 
nebec  river.  This  was  also  in  1607,  only  three  months  after 
Smith,  Gosnold,  and  their  companions  had  begun  to  clear 
the  ground  for  the  settlement  of  Jamestown.  A  fort,  store 
house,  rude  cabins,  and  a  church  were  built  ;  but  the  intense 
cold  of  the  winter,  the  death  of  their  president,  the  destruc 
tion  of  their  storehouse  by  fire,  and  other  causes,  so  discour 
aged  the  settlers  that  they  returned  to  Europe.  Thus  ended 
the  colony. 

4.  To  forty  wealthy  men,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Eng 
lish  nobility,  King  James,  in   1620,  issued  a  patent  which, 


1607  The  Pilgrims  in  England.  61 

"  in  American  annals,  and  even  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
has  but  one  parallel.'7    By  this  charter,  known  as  the  "  Great 
Patent,"  the  whole  of  North  America,  from  the 
fortieth  to  the  forty-eighth  degree  of  latitude,  was       Great 
granted  in  full  property.      This  vast  region,  in-      •Patent- 
eluding  all  its  islands,  rivers,  harbors,  mines,  and  fisheries, 
was  given  to  forty  persons.     The  name  of  the  new  association 
was  "The  Council  established  at  Plymouth;"  but,  for  the 
sake  of  brevity,  it  was  called  the  Council  of  Plymouth.     The 
Plymouth  company,  so  called,  no  longer  existed. 

5.  There  were  at  that  time  in  England  large  numbers  of 
the  inhabitants  who  did  not  believe  that  it  was  right  to  wor 
ship  God  in  the  manner  required  by  the  laws  of  the  country. 
They  desired  to    purify  the  Established  Church     p    . 
from  what  they  regarded  its  corruptions  u  hence,        and 
in  derision,  they  were  called  Puritans.     The  term    Pll&nms> 
was  applied  to  several  sects,  including  one  known  as  Brown- 
ists  ;  but  these  last  were  not  strictly  Puritans,  for,  while  the 
Puritans  denounced  the  Church  of  England,  they  still  con 
tinued  to  have  the   most   profound   reverence  for  it.      The 
Brownists,  so  called  by  the  Puritans,  were  seceders  or  Sepa 
ratists,  inasmuch  as,  "  renouncing  all  obedience  to  human 
authority   in   spiritual   things,"    they   separated    themselves 
entirely  from  the  Church  of  England  and  formed  themselves 
into  independent  congregations. 

0.  "At  an  early  period  of  King  James's  reign  one  of  these 
congregations  of  seceders  had  been  wont  to  hold  meetings  at 
Scrooby,  then  the  residence  of  one  William  Brews-        The 
ter,  a  gentleman  of  fortune,  a  good  scholar,  who  was    Pilgrims 
living  a  retired  life,  devoted  to  study,  meditation,  in  EnSland- 
and  practical  exertion  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion.  The  pas 
tor  of  the  church,  one  John  Eobinson,  was  a  man  of  learning, 
eloquence,  and  lofty  intellect.    But  what  were  such  gifts  in  the 
possession  of  rebels,  seceders,  and  Puritans  ?    It  is  needless  to 
say  that  Brewster  and  Eobinson  were  baited,  persecuted,  watch 
ed  day  and  night,  some  of  the  congregation  often  clapped  into 


New  England. 


1607-20 


prison,  others  into  the  stocks,  deprived  of  the  means  of  live 
lihood,  outlawed,  famished,  banned.  Plainly  their  country 
was  no  place  for  them.  After  a  few  years  of  such  work  they 
resolved  to  establish  themselves  in  Holland,  where  at  least 
they  hoped  to  find  refuge  and  toleration. 

7.  But  it  proved  as  difficult  for  them  to  quit  the  country 
as  to  remain  in  it.  Watched  and  hunted  like  gangs  of  coin 
ers,  forgers,  or  other  felons  attempting  to  flee  from  justice, 
set  upon  by  troopers  armed  with  f  bills  and  guns  and  other 
weapons,'  seized  when  about  to  embark,  pillaged  and 
stripped  by  catchpoles,  exhibited  as  a  show  to  grinning  coun 
try  folk,  the  women  and  children  dealt  with  like  drunken 
tramps,  led  before  magistrates,  committed  to  jail,  they  were 
only  able  after  attempts  lasting  through  two  years'  time  to 
effect  their  escape  to  Amsterdam."  Then  the  wanderers 
were  Pilgrims. 

<  8.  Their  residence  in  Amsterdam  was  brief.     To  Leyden 

(li'-den)  they  soon  removed,  and  here  for  several  years  they 

*'  lived  together  in  peace,  and  love,  and  holiness.    But  they  fear- 

The       ed  that,  if  they  continued  there  much  longer,  they 

Pilgrims     would  cease  to  be  Eng- 
in  Holland. 


all  the  manners  and  ideas  and  feel 
ings  of  the  Dutch.  For  this  and 
other  reasons,"  they  decided  to 
plant  a  colony  in  America,  where, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious 
rights,  they  would  once  more  be 
under  the  government  of  their 
native  land.  The  "  embarkation" 
took  place  at  Delft-Haven. 

9.  "  Delft-Haven  is  j>n  unim 
portant  seaport  on  the  long  line 
of   the   Dutch   coast  ;   yet   it    is 
worthy  of  remembrance,  for  it  marks  the  march  of  man  to 
ward  the  future,  and  toward  freedom.     On  the  morning  of 


SHIP  OF  THE  TIMK  OP  THE  PILGRIMS. 


1820  The  Embarkation.  -    63 

the  22d  of  July,  of  the  year  1620,  a  few  persons,  on  the  quiet- 
key,  knew  that  a  small  bark  of  sixty  tons,  called  the  Speed 
well,  was  preparing  for  a  voyage  ;  but  whither  The 
and  for  what  ?  She  was  no  merchantman  bound  Embarkation, 
for  gain,  no  privateer  for  plunder,  no  holiday  sail  for  pleas 
ure,  no  explorer  for  new  continents. 

10.  On  that  morning    the  living  freight    of    that  vessel 
gathered  on  her  deck,  men,  women,  and  children,  some  old, 
but  mostly  young.     They  were  English  born,  and  English 
bred,  though  they  had  now  lived  in  this  foreign  land  twelve 
years.     They  did  not  forget  the  land  of  their  birth,  yet  they 
thanked  the  Dutch  for  shelter  when  they  were  driven  out 
from  their  homes  and  the  places  they  loved  so  well.     They 
had  taken  counsel  of  their  hope  and  their  fears  '  to  seek  of 
God/  using  their  own  words,   'a  right  way  for  us  and  our 
children.'      They  believed  they  had   found  the  right  way, 
and  were  now  to  go  forward  on  it,  leaving  behind  the  larger 
part  of  their  church  and  their  minister,  for  all  could  not 
then  go. 

11.  The  Pilgrims  stood  in  groups,  and  the  conversation,  if 
brief  and  low,  was  earnest.     Then  Robinson  knelt  down  on 
the  deck,  and  with  him  knelt  his   friends  and»companions. 
He  stretched  out  his  hands,  and  cried  to  the  Lord,  and  his 
words  moved  all  hearts.     ...     It  would  be  hard  to  say 
which  were  the  more  bereft  ;  those  who  went,  or  those  who 
stayed.     As  they  on  the  shore  watched  the  departing  bark 
with  streaming  eyes,  they  were  borne  up  by  a  living  faith 
that  liberty  and  righteousnes  should  one  day  prevail. 

12.  They  sailed  for  Southampton,  England,  where  awaited 
them  another  small  ship,  the  Mayflower.      The  final  arrange 
ments  having  been  made,   the  two  ships  stood  out  to  sea. 
The  passengers  had  hardly  begun  to  arrange  themselves  to 
their  new  circumstances,  when  signals  from  the  Speedwell 
told  them  that  something  was  wrong — that  evil  threatened 
them.     To  turn  back  was  the  only  alternative  ;  and  then  to 
learn  that  the  Speedwell  was  leaking  badly  was  the  uiiwcl- 


64  New  England.  1620 

come  news.  To  old  England,  then,  they  must  once  more 
steer,  and  that  without  delay,  for  the  water  made  fast,  so  that 
when  they  arrived  at  Dartmouth,  they  believed  that  in  three 
hours  more  the  ship  '  would  have  sunk  right  down.' 

13.  After  eight  days  of  delay,  they  again  sailed,  but,  be 
fore  long,  the  signals  told  of  further  trouble.     The  supersti 
tious  element  was  then  rife  in  the  land  ;  and  the  habit  of 
tracing  every  event  to  a  special  act  of  God  led  some  to  fear 
that  these  delays   and  rebuffs  signified  that   God    was  dis 
pleased  at  the  voyage.   It  was  decided  to  put  back  to  England 
— this  time  to  Plymouth.     Finally  the  Mayflower,   with  as 
many  of  the  Pilgrims  as  could  be  accommodated  on  board, 
set  sail  for  America,  solitary  and  alone." 

14.  After  a  boisterous  voyage  of  more  than  three  months, 
the  Mayflower  dropped  her  anchor  at  noon,  on  a  Saturday,  in 
the  harbor  of  Cape  Cod.     There,  in  the  cabin  of  the  little 

Settlement  vesse^  a^  ^he  men?  forty-one  in  number,  agreed 
of  to  a  form  of  government  for  their  colony,  by  signing 
ymou  .  f-jjgjj.  names  to  a  compact  that  had  been  pre 
viously  prepared.  With  the  same  unanimity  they  chose  John 
Carver  governor  for  one  year.  "  Having  kept  their  Sabbath 
in  due  retirement,  the  men  began  the  labors  of  the  week  by 
landing  a  shallop  from  the  ship,  and  hauling  it  up  the  beach 
for  repairs,  while  the  women  went  on  shore  to  wash  clothes. 
While  the  carpenter  and  men  were  at  work  on  the  boat,  six 
teen  others,  armed  and  provisioned,  with  Standish  for  their 
commander,  set  off  on  foot  to  explore  the  country.  The 
only  incident  of  this  day  was  the  sight  of  five  or  six  savages, 
who,  on  their  approach,  ran  away  too  swiftly  to  be  overtaken. 
At  night,  lighting  a  fire  and  setting  a  guard,  the  party 
bivouacked  at  the  distance,  as  they  supposed,  of  ten  miles 
from  the  vessel. 

p  15.  Proceeding  southward,  next  morning,  they  observed 
marks  of  cultivation  ;  some  heaps  of  earth  which  they  took 
for  signs  of  graves,  and  the  remains  of  a  hut,  with  a  '  great 
kettle,  which  had  been  some  ship's  kettle.'  In  a  heap  which 


1620  Settlement  of  Plymouth.  65 

they  opened  they  found  two  baskets  containing  four  or  five 
bushels  of  Indian  corn,  of  which  they  took  as  much  as  they 
could  carry  away  in  their  pockets  and  in  the  kettle.  The 
second  night,  which  was  rainy,  they  encamped  again  with 
more  precaution  than  before.  On  Friday  evening,  having 
lost  their  way  meanwhile,  and  been  amused  by  an  accident 
to  Bradford,  who  was  caught  in  an  Indian  deer- trap,  they  re 
turned  to  their  friends. 

16.  The  succeeding  week  was  spent  in  putting  their  tools 
in  order  and  preparing  timber  for  a  new  boat.     During  this 
time,  which  proved  to  be  cold  and  stormy,  much  inconven 
ience  was  experienced  from  having  to  wade  through  the  shal 
low  water  to  the  shore  ;  and  many  took  '  coughs  and  colds, 
which  afterward  turned  to  scurvy.'     On  Monday  of  the  week 
next  following,  twenty-four  of  the  colonists,  in  the  shallop, 
which  was  now  refitted,  set  out  for  an  exploration  along  the 
coast.     That  day  and  the  following  night  they  suffered  from 
a  cold  snow-storm,  and  were  compelled  to  run  into  the  shore 
for  security. 

17.  As  soon  as  the  state  of  the  weather  permitted,  a  party 
of  ten,  including  Carver,  Bradford,  and  others  of  the  princi 
pal  men,  set  off  with  eight  seamen  in  the  shallop,  on  what 
proved  to  be  the  final  expedition  of  discovery.     The  severity 
of  the  cold  was  extreme.     '  The  water  froze  on  their  clothes, 
and  made  them,  many  times,  like  coats  of  iron.'       Coasting 
along  the   cape   in  a  southerly  direction   for   six  or   seven 
leagues,  they  landed  and  slept  at  a  place  where  ten  or  twelve 
Indians  had  appeared  on  the  shore.     The  Indians  ran  away 
on  being  approached. 

18.  The  next  day,  while  part  of  the  company  in  the  shal 
lop  examined  the  shore,  the  rest,  ranging  about  the  country, 
found  a  burial-place,  some  old  wigwams,  and  a  small  store  of 
parched  acorns  buried  in  the  ground.    The  following  morning, 
at  daylight,  they  had  just  ended  their  prayers,  and  were  pre 
paring  breakfast  at  their  camp  on  the  beach,  when  they  heard 
a  yell,  and  a  flight  of  arrows  fell  among  them.     The  assail- 


66  New  England.  1621 

ants  turned  out  to  be  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  who,  being 
fired  upon,  retired.  Neither  side  had  been  harmed.  A  num 
ber  of  the  arrows  were  picked  up,  '  some  whereof  were 
headed  with  brass,  others  with  hart's  horn,  and  others  with 
eagles'  claws.' 

19.  Getting  on  board,  they  sailed  along  the  shore  in  a 
storm  of  snow  and  sleet.     In  the  afternoon,  the  gale  having 
increased,  their  rudder  was  disabled,  and  they  had  to  steer 
with  oars.     At  length  the  mast  was  carried  away,  and  they 
drifted  in  the  dark  with  a  flood  tide.     With  difficulty  they 
brought  up  under  the  lee  of  a  '  small  rise  of  land. '      Here  a 
part  of  the  company,  suffering  from  wet  and  cold,  went  on 
shore,   though  not  without  fear  of   hostile  neighbors,   and 
lighted  a  fire  by  which  to  pass  the  inclement  night. 

20.  On  Monday  they  sounded  the  harbor,  and  found  it  fit 
for  shipping,   and  marched  also  into  the  land,  and  found 
divers  cornfields  and  little  running  brooks,  a  place,  as  they 
supposed,  fit  for  situation."    And  here  they  all  landed,  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  and  two,  on  the  21st  of  December, 
1620,  a  memorable  day  in  the  calendar.     "A  grateful  pos 
terity,"  says  Bancroft,  "  has  marked  the  rock  on  which  they 
first  trod.  In  memory  of  the  hospitalities  which  the -company 
had  received  at  the  last  English  port  from  which  they  had 
sailed,  this  oldest  New  England  colony  took  the  name  of  Ply 
mouth." 

21.  "  The  imagination,"  says  Palfrey,  "  vainly  tasks  itself 
to  comprehend  the  horrors  of  that  fearful  winter.     The  only 
mitigations  were,  that  the  cold  was  of  less  severity  than  is 

The  first  usua^  in  tlie  P^ace?  and  tnat  tnere  was  not  an  en~ 
winter  at  tire  want  of  food  and  shelter.  The  men  carried 
Plymouth.  ont  the  dead  through  the  cold  and  snow,  and  then 

hastened  back  from  the  burial  to  wait  on  the  sick  ;  and  as 
the  sick  began  to  recover,  they  took  the  places  of  those 
whose  strength  had  been  exhausted.  Warm  weather  came  at 
length,  and  the  birds  sang  in  the  woods  most  pleasantly. 
Never  was  spring  more  welcome  ;"  but  death  had  carried  to 


1623  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire.  67 

the  grave  more  than  half  their  number,  including  Carver  and 
.  his  wife.  Bradford  was  their  second  governor.  The  fears 
that  at  first  they  had  of  the  Indians  were  put  at  rest  by  a 
treaty  of  friendship  made  with  Mas-sa-soit',  the  great  chief  of 
the  Wam-pa-no'-ags  (1621). l 

^22.  "  Our  fathers  were  brought  hither  by  their  high  ven 
eration  for  the  Christian  religion.     They  journeyed  by  its 
light,  and  labored  in  its  hope.    They  sought  to  incorporate  its 
principles  with  the  elements  of  their  society,  and  to    The  great 
diffuse  its  influence  through*all  their  institutions,   aim  of  the 
civil,  political,  or  literary.     Let  us  cherish  these    Pll£nms< 
sentiments,  and  extend  this  influence  still  more  widely  ;  in 
the  full  conviction  that  that  is  the  happiest  society  which 
partakes  in  the  highest  degree  of  the  mild  and  peaceable 
spirit  of  Christianity." 

23.  The  "  Great  Patent"  to  the-Council  of  Plymouth,  in 
cluding,  as  it  did,  the  exclusive  right  of  fishing  in  the  waters 
off  the  coast  of  New  England  and  beyond,  found  no  favor 
with  those  outside  of  the  company  who  desired  to  Settlement 
engage  in  the  business.     Said  Sir  Edward  Coke,      of  New 
a  celebrated  English  lawyer,  "  This  is  to  make  a  HamPsMre' 
monopoly  upon  the  high  seas."     The  opposition,  however, 
did   not  prevent   the   council   from  granting  to  two   men, 
Gorges  (gor'-jez)  and  Mason,  the  lands  between  the  Merrimac 
and  the  Kennebec.      Under  this  grant,  a  colony  of  fishermen 
made  settlements  at  Portsmouth  and  Dover  (1623).    When,  six 
years  later,  Mason  obtained,  in  his  own  name  alone,  a  title  to 
the  southern  and  western  portions  of  the  same  land — New 
Hampshire — he  gave  cause  for  the  series  of  lawsuits  about 
lands  that  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  distressed  the  settlers.2 


1  This  treaty,  "  made  in  a  day,  was  sacredly  kept  for  more  than  half  a 
century.     A  bundle  of  arrows,  wrapped  in  the  skin  of  a  rattlesnake,  was 
the  warlike  message  of  Ca-non'-i-cus,  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts  ;  but 
when  Bradford  sent  back  the  skin  stuffed  with  powder  and  shot,  his  cour 
age  quailed,  and  he  sued  for  amity"  (1022). — Bancroft. 

2  In  1G41,  the  people  of  the  different  settlements  of  New  Hampshire 
placed  themselves  under  the  government  and  protection  of  Masssachu- 


68  New  England.  1630 

24.  The  third  English  colony  planted  with  success  in  New 
England  was  at   Salem.      John  Endicott,  by  authority  of  a 
grant  made  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth  to  a  company  of 

The        five  persons  beside  himself,  arrived  in  the  autumn 

Massachusetts  of  1628  ;  and,  joined  by  persons  who  had  already 

Bay  Colony.  gettled  tner6j  ]aid  the  foundation  of  the  colony. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  "  Puritan  refuge"  in  America. 
Endicott's  associates,  re-enforced  by  many  Puritans  of  note  and 
many  other  excellent  men,  obtained  from  King  Charles  a 
charter,  which  formed  them  into  a  body  by  the  name  of  the 
"  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England"  (1629).  "  This  ^charter  was  cherished  for  more 
than  half  a  century  as  the  precious  boon." 

25.  Twelve  ships  soon  arrived  in  Massachusetts  bay  ;  but, 
in  consequence  of  their  long  voyages,  the  emigrants  suffered 
from  fevers  and  the  want  of  proper  food.     They  "had  in- 

Settlement  tended  to  dwell  together  ;  but,  in  their  distress, 
of  Boston,  they  planted  where  each  was  inclined."  John 
Winthrop,  their  governor,  made  Charlestown  his  first  home. 
"  On  the  other  side  of  the  river,  on  the  little  peninsula, 
scarce  two  miles  long  by  one  broad,  marked  by  three  hills, 
and  blessed  with  sweet  and  pleasant  springs,  safe  pastures, 
and  land  that  promised  rich  cornfields  and  fruitful  gar- 
dens,  the  first  good  house  was  built,  even  before  the  place 
took  the  name  (Boston)  which  was  to  grow  famous  through 
out  the  wo  rid."1  Winthrop  took  possession  of  this  penin 
sula,  and  there  commenced  a  settlement  (1630). 

setts  ;  but  in  1680  the  two  colonies  were  separated  by  order  of  the  king. 
Twice  after  this  New  Hampshire  was  united  to  Massachusetts  ;  but  from 
1741  it  was  independent. 

1  The  Indian  name  of  the  peninsula  was  abbreviated  into  the  name 
Shawmut.  Some  of  the  colonists  were  from  Boston,  England.  The  first 
English  settler  there  was  William  Blackstone.  ' '  There  is  a  mystery  in  his 
life  which  probably  can  never  be  explained.  When  and  how  he  came  to 
America  is  unknown.  The  first  planters  of  Massachusetts  bay  found  him 
already  established  on  the  Shawmut  peninsula,  now  Boston.  In  1034  he 
sold  out  his  title  to  Shawmut,  and  became  probably  the  first  white  settler 
of  Rhode  Island.  Williams  found  him  then;  in  1(>3G."— Arnold's  History 
of  Rhode  Ida  rid., 


1636  Hooker' s  Emigration.  69 

26.  The  valley  through,  which  the  Connecticut  river  flows 
was  soon  found  to  be  pleasant  and  fertile.    The  Dutch  of  New 
Netherlands  were  the  first  to  ascend  the  stream  ;  and,  to  pro 
tect  their  claim  to  the  region,  they  put  up  a  building  settlement  of 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  which  answered  the  Connecticut, 
double  purpose  of  a  fort  and  trading-house.     The  Pilgrims  of 
Plymouth  also  appear  in  the  early  history  of   Connecticut. 
They,  too,  erected  a  building — a  trading-house — where  they 
carried  on  a  profitable  traffic  in  furs  with  the  natives.    Mean 
time,  however,  the  "  soil  of  Connecticut,"  by  an  act  of  the 
Council  of  Plymouth,  had  been  "  ceded  away,"  and  was  now  the 
property  of  Lord  Say-and-Seal,  Lord  Brooke,  and  others.    At 
the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  a  colony  was  planted  by  John 
Winthrop,   son  of   the  Massachusetts    governor,   which,   in 
honor  of  the  proprietors,  was  named  Saybrook  (1635). 

27.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  vear  a  second  colony  was 
established  in  Connecticut.     This  was  at  Hartford,  near  the 
fort  built  by  the  Dutch.     The  settlers  were  from  the  vicin: 
ity  of  Boston.     These  were  followed  the  next  year    Hooker's 
by  another  emigration  from  the  same  locality,  con-  emigration. 
ducted  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker.      "  About  the  begin 
ning  of  June,  the  first  warm  month  of  the  New  England 
year,  Mr.  Hooker^  with  about  one  hundred  men,  women,  and 
children,  set  out  upon  the  journey  which  had  been  long  in 
contemplation.      Over  mountains  ;  through  swamps  ;  across 
rivers,  fording  or  upon  rafts  ;  with  the  compass  to  point  out 
their  way,  slowly  they  moved  westward. 

28.  Now,  in  the  open  spaces  of  the  forests  where  the  sun 
looked  in  ;  now,   under  the  shades  of  the  old  trees  ;  now, 
struggling  through  the  bushes  and  vines — driving  their  flocks 
and  herds  before  them — with  hearts  as  cheerful  as  the  month, 
slowly  they  moved  on.    A  stately,  well-ordered  journey  it  was, 
for  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  rank  were  of  the  company. 
Ladies,  too,  who  had  been  delicately  bred  and  had  known 
little  of  toil  or  hardship  until  now,  were  there.     At  the  end 
of  about  two  weeks  they  reached  the  land  almost  fabulous  to 


70'  New  England.  1639 

them — the  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  It  lay  at  their  feet, 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  low-browed  hills.  It  lay  holding 
its  silvery  river  in  its  embrace,  like  a  strong  bow  half  bent  in 
the  hands  of  the  swarthy  hunter,  who  still  called  himself  lord 
of 'its  rich  acres/' 

^  29.  These  settlers  had  come  to  a  delightful  region,  but  they 
were  surrounded  by  perils.  Their  neighbors,  the  Dutch,  were 
unfriendly,  for  they  looked  upon  them  as  intruders  ;  but  their 
The  worst  foes  were  the  hostile  tribe  of  Indians  called 
Pequod  War.  Pequods  or  Pequots.  With  these  (in  1637)  they 
were  compelled  to  wage  a  fierce  war  ;  but  Indian  cunning 
and  ferocity  were  no  match  for  European  courage  and  skill. 
What  could  clubs  and  arrows  avail  against  muskets  and  ar 
mor?  The  Pequods  were  defeated  and  completely  broken  up 
as  a  tribe.  Of  the  few  that  survived  and  surrendered,  some 
were  enslaved  by  the  English,  the  others  were  sent  to  the 
Narragansetts  and  Mohegans. 

30.  Two  colonies  were  already  in  Connecticut.     A  third, 
"  remarkable  for  the  religious  spirit  that  marked  its  laws/3 
was  founded  at  New  Haven,  by  Theophilus  Eaton,  a  man 

„.        of  large  fortune,  and  John  Davenport,  a  distin- 

Haven      guished  Puritan  minister  (1638).     A  title  to  the 

o.ony.     i£in(jg  was  obtained  by  a  treaty  with  the  natives. 

Annual  elections  were  held,  and  Eaton  was  chosen  governor 

annually  till  his  death — a  period  of  twenty  years. 

31.  "  The  first  house  for  public  worship  in   New  Haven 
was  commen  )ed  in  1639.     That  such  a  house  should  be  built 
was  decided  in  the  town  meeting.     It  was  fifty  feet  square, 

having  a  tower  surmounted  with  a  turret.  The 
A  Sabbath  men  werc  seated  on  one  side  of  the  house  ;  the 
Haven  in  women  on  the  other.  Every  one,  according  to 

llis  office  or  llis  a&e>  or  kig  rank  m  society>  nad 
his  place   assigned  to   him.     In  this  temple  the 

fathers  of  New  Haven  maintained  the  worship  and  ordi 
nances  of  God  for  about  thirty  years.  Let  us  go  back  to  one 
of  their  ancient  Sabbaths,  You  see  in  the  morning  no  mo- 


1639 


A  Sabbath  in  New  Haven. 


71 


tion,  save  as  the  herds  go  forth  to  their  pasture  in  the  com 
mon  grounds,  driven  by  the  herdsmen.  At  the  appointed 
hour,  the  drum  having  been  beaten  both  the  first  time  and 
the  second,  the  whole  population,  from  the  dwellings  of  the 
town  and  from  the  farms  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  come 
together  in  the  place  of  prayer. 


PURITANS   GOING   TO   CHURCH. 

(From  BoughtoiTs  celebrated  Picture.) 

32.  The  sentinel  is  placed  in  the  turret  to  give  the  first 
alarm  in  the  event  of  an  attack  by  the  Indians.  Those  who 
are  to  keep  ward,  the  military  guard,  go  forth,  pacing  two 
by  two  the  still  green  lanes.  In  this  rude  and  unfurnished 
structure  is  devotion  true  and  pure.  Through  a  long  course 
of  exercises,  which  would  weary  out  the  men  of  our  degen 
erate  days,  these  hearers  sit  or  stand.  They  love  the  word 
that  comes  from  the  lips  of  their  pastor.  They  love  the  order 
of  this  house.  To  them,  each  sermon,  every  prayer,  every 


72  New  England.  1639 

tranquil  Sabbath  is  the  more  precious  for  all  that  it  has  cost 
them.  As  the  day  declines  they  retire  to  their  dwellings, 
and  close  the  Sabbath  with  family  worship."  1 

33.  Roger  Williams,  the  founder  of  Rhode  Island,  was  a 
"fugitive  from  English  persecution."     Landing  at  Boston, 
the  year  next  after  Winthrop  had  taken  up  his  abode  there, 

The  founder^6  soon  incurre(l  the  enmity  of  those  in  power, 
of  Rhode    for  on  every  occasion  he  held  firmly  to  the  doc- 
8  *n  '      trine  that  "the  civil  power  should  have  no  con 
trol  over  the  religious  opinions  of  men."     After  a  two  years' 
residence  at  Plymouth  he  went  to  Salem,  and  there  he  became 
the  pastor  of  the  church.     His  efforts,  however,  to  separate 
the  affairs  of  State  from  the  affairs  of  the  Church  so  excited- 
the  hostility  of  the  authorities,  that  they  resolved  to  banish 
him  from  the  colony. 

34.  "  His  immediate  departure,  in  a  ship  then  ready  to 
sail  for  England,  was  resolved  upon.     An  order  was  sent  for 
him  to  come  to  Boston,  which  he  declined  to  do.    A  boat  was 

His  flight   ^ien  Despatched  to  take  him  by  force,  and  place 

to         him  on  board  the  ship.      Warned  by  the  previous 

Island'order,  he  had  already  escaped  three  days  before, 

no  one  knew  whither.      Leaving  his  wife   and   two   infant 

children,   he   set   out   alone   in  midwinter  to  perform  that 

arduous  journey  of  which,  thirty-five  years  later,  he  wrote, 

( I  was  tossed  for  one  fourteen  weeks,  in   a   bitter   winter 

season,  not  knowing  what  bread  or  bed  did  mean.' 

35.  Happily  for  the  world,  and  most  fortunately,  as  the 
event  soon  proved,  for  the  people  of  New  England,  he  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  his  pursurcrs.     Driven  from  the  society  of 
civilized  man,  Williams  turned  his  steps  southward,  to  find 
among   heathen    savages  the  boon  of  charity  which  was  re- 


1  The  people  of  the  Connecticut  colony— Hartford,  Windsor,  and 
Wethersfield — met  at  Hartford  in  1089,  and  united  in  forming  a  govern 
ment.  In  1G44,  Saybrook  joined  the  Connecticut  colony.  The  two  col 
onies,  Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  were  formed  into  one  in  1605,  under 
a  royal  charter  granted  by  Charles  II. 


1663          Early  History  of  Rhode  Island.  73 

fused  at  home.  The  now  venerable  Massasoit,1  who,  sixteen 
years  before,  had  first  welcomed  the  weary  Pilgrims  to  his 
shores,  and  with  whom  Williams,  during  his  residence  at  Ply 
mouth,  had  contracted  a  friendship,  received  with  open  arms 
the  lonely  and  twice-exiled  Puritan.  From  him  Williams 
obtained  a  grant  of  land,  where  lie  built  a  home  and  com 
menced  planting. 

-f-36.  But  this  was  not  to  be  his  home.  He  was  soon  advised 
by  his  friend,  Governor  Winslow  of  Plymouth,  that,  as  his 
plantation  was  within  the  limits  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  he 
should  remove.  This  he  resolved  to  do  ;  and,  in  company 
with  five  others,  who  appear  to  have  followed  him  from  Sa 
lem,  he  embarked  in  his  canoe  to  find  at  length  a  resting 
place  on  the  free  hills  of  Providence.  .  .  .  Sailing  up 
what  was  then  a  broad  and  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  skirted  by 
a  dense  forest,  their  attention  was  attracted  by  a  spring  close 
on  the  margin  of  the  stream,  where  they  landed,  and  com 
menced  a  settlement,  to  which,  in  gratitude  to  his  Supreme 
Deliverer,  Williams  gave  the  name  of  Providence  (1636)." 

37.  A  deed    from  the  Narragansett    Indians  soon   made 
Williams  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land.     To  this  asylum 
for  those  "  distressed  for  conscience"  many  fled.    They  came 
from    England    as  well   as  from  Massachusetts  ;  Earl  higtor 
and  to  those  whom  he  thought  most  in  want  "  he         of 
gave  away  his  lands  until  he  gave  all  away."    The      °  (   s  an  • 
affairs  of  the  colony,  so  long  as  the  population  was  not  large, 
were  managed  by  the  settlers  at  their  town  meetings.     New 

-  settlements  in  a  short  time  were  made,  which  were  united 
under  one  government  by  a  charter  obtained  by  Williams 
from  the  English  Parliament  (1644).  Not  long  after  Charles 
the  Second  ascended  the  throne,  he  gave  to  Rhode  Island 
another  and  better  charter  (1663).  This,  Andros,  the  gov 
ernor  of  all  New  England  when  James  the  Second  was  king, 
tried  to  take  away  ;  but  he  was  foiled,  and  it  continued  to  be 

1  The  name  as  given  by  Arnold  is  Ous-a-me'-quin, 


74  New  England.  1643 

the   great   foundation   law  of    Rhode  Island  for  threescore 
years  and  a  century. 

38.  The  first  union  of  any  of  the  American  colonies,  "  for 
mutual  help  and  strength/'  took  place  in  1643.     "  A  general 
confederation  of  the  New  England  colonies  had  heen  pro- 

^  .  posed,  and  in  agitation  several  years.      The  cir- 

New  England  cumstances  of  the  English  nation  and  the  state  of 
Les>  the  colonies  at  this  time  made  it  a  matter  of  ur 
gent  necessity.  The  colonies  had  extended  their  settlements 
upon  the  rivers,  and  had  made  them  in  a  more  scattering 
manner  than  was  at  first  designed.  No  aid  could  be  ex 
pected  from  the  mother  country.  The  Dutch  had  so  ex 
tended  their  claims,  and  were  so  powerful  and  hostile,  as  to 
afford  a  just  ground  of  general  alarm.  All  the  plantations 
were  compassed  by  numerous  tribes  of  savage  men.  The 
Narragansetts  appeared  hostile,  and  there  were  the  appear 
ances  of  a  genera]  combination  among  the  Indians  to  extir 
pate  the  colonies. 

39.  Commissioners  from  the  colonies  of  Connecticut,  New 
Httven,  and  Plymouth  were  sent  to  Boston  to  confer  with 
the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts.     A  spirit  of  harmony 
and  mutual  condescension  prevailed,  and  ar-ticles  of  union 
were  adopted  for  the  four  colonies.     This  was  of  the  highest 
consequence  to  the  colonists.     It  made  them  formidable  to 
the  Dutch  and  Indians,  and  respectable  among  their  French 
neighbors.       It  was  happily  adapted  to  maintain  harmony 
among  themselves.    It  was  one  of  the  principal  means  for  the 
preservation  of  the  colonies  during  the  wars  in  which  Eng 
land  was  engaged.     It  was  the  grand  source  of  mutual  de 
fence  in  Philip's  war.      The  union  lasted  more  than  forty 
years,  until  the  abrogation  of  the  charters  of  the  New  Eng 
land  colonies  by  King  James  the  Second." 

40.  "  The  rise  in  England  of  '  the  people  called  Quakers  ' 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  results  of  the  Protestant 
revolution."     "  Twelve  of  their  number,  converts  of  George 
Fox,  the  first  Quaker  in  the  world,  came  to  Boston.     They 


1660  Persecution  of  the  Quakers.  75 

seemed  to  be  impelled  by  an  earnest  love  for  the  souls  of 
men,  and  a  pure  desire  to  make  known  what  they  considered 
a  revelation  from  Heaven.     But  the  rulers  looked  Persecution 
upon  them  as  plotting  the  downfall  of  all  govern-      of  the 
ment  and  religion.     They  were  banished  from  the     Quakers- 
colony.     In  a  little  while,  however,  not  only  the  first  twelve 
had  returned,  but  a  multitude  of   other  Quakers  had  come 
to  rebuke  the  rulers,  and  to  preach  against  the  priests  and 
steeple  houses. 

41.  These  enthusiasts  were  received  with  hatred  and  scorn. 
They  were  thrown  into  dungeons  ;   they  were   beaten  with 
many  stripes,  women  as  well  as  men  ;  they  were  driven  forth 
into  the  wilderness,  and  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  wild 
beasts  and  Indians  ;  but  the  more  the  Quakers  were  scourged 
and  imprisoned  and  banished,   the  more    did    the  sect  in 
crease,  both  by  the  influx  of  strangers  and  by  converts  from 
among  the  Puritans.     In  1659  two  Quakers  were  hanged  in 
Boston.     A  woman  had  been  sentenced  to  die  with  them, 
but  was  reprieved  on  condition  of  her  leaving  the  colony.  Her 
name  was  Mary  Dyer.    Next  year  she  returned  to  Boston  and 
was  executed. 

42.  In  1660,  the  same  year  in  which  Mary  Dyer  was  ex 
ecuted,  Charles  the  Second  was  restored  to  the  throne  of  his 
fathers.       This  king  had    many  vices  ;    but  he  would  not 
permit  blood  to  be  shed,  under  pretence  of  religion,  in  any 
part  of  his  dominions.     The  Quakers  in  England  told  him 
what  had  been  done  to  their  brethren  ;  and  he  sent  orders  to 
Governor  Endicott,   of  Massachusetts,   to  forbear  all    such 
proceedings  in  future.     And  so  ended  the  Quaker  persecu 
tion,  one  of  the  most  mournful  passages  in  the  history  of 
our  forefathers." 

43.  About  forty  years  after  the  Pequod  war,  another  fierce 
war  broke  out  in  NQW  England,  known  as  King  Philip's  war. 
King  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  English,  was  a  son  and 
successor  of  Massasoit,  who  had  been  the  fast  friend  of  the 
colonists.     But  the  whites  had  now  greatly  increased  in  num- 


76  New  England.  1675 

bers,  the  whole  population  in  New  England  being  about  sixty 
thousand,  while  the  Indians  were  only  half  as  numerous.    The 
latter,  however,  were  much  more  to  be  feared  than 
Philip's  war.  f°rmerly,  for  many  of  them  had  guns  and  ammu 
nition  instead  of  bows  and  arrows,  and  hatchets 
and  knives  instead  of  the  rude  weapons  made  of  stone  or 
bone  which  they  had  used  during  the  Pequod  war. 

44.  Between    Narragansett  bay  and   Plymouth   were   the 
Wam-pa-no'-ags,  of  which  tribe  Philip  was  the  chief.    As  the 
farms  and  villages  of  the  whites  were  rapidly  encroaching 
upon  the  hunting  grounds  of  this  tribe  collisions  followed  ; 
but  whether    the    storm  which  broke    out   so   suddenly   in 
1675  was  accidental  or  the  result  of  a  plot  is  not   certain. 
A  converted  Indian,  who  had  informed  the  colonists  that  his 
people  were  making  preparations  for  war,  was  killed.     His 
murderers  were  seized,  tried  by  a  jury,  of  which  one  half 
were  Indians,   convicted,  and  hung.     Panting  for  revenge, 
the  young  men  of  the  tribe  killed  eight  or  nine  of  the  colo 
nists.     The  war  that  ensued  was  terrible.     On  the  part  of 
the  Indians   it  was  one  of  ambuscades  and  surprises  ;  and 
for  many  months  they  kept  all  New  England  in  a  state  of 
terror.     Brookfield  was  besieged  and  set  fire  to  :  and  Deer- 
field,  Northfield,  and  other  towns  were  destroyed.1 

45.  A  treaty  of  peace  had  been  made  with  the  Narragan- 
setts,  but  as  they  gave  shelter  and  protection  to  the  Wam- 
panoags,  it  was  resolved  to  regard  them  as  enemies.     "  The 
place  where  they  were  to  be  sought  was  in  Rhode  Island,  a 
little  more  than  eighteen  miles  from  that  Pequod  fort  which 


1  One  Sabbath  morning,  while  the  people  of  Hadley  were  at  worship 
in  the  village  church,  a  tall  and  venerable  man,  a  stranger  to  them,  ap 
peared  and  told  them  that  the  savages  were  coming.  He  rallied  the  men 
and  led  them  against  the  Indians.  The  savages  were  routed  and  fled  ; 
but  when  the  people  looked  around  for  their  preserver,  he  had  gone  ;  and 
they  for  some  time  believed  that  they  had  been  rescued  by  an  angel.  It 
was  afterward  discovered  that  the  tall  and  venerable  man  was  General 
Goffe,  one  of  the  judges  who  had  condemned  Charles  the  First  to  be  be 
headed.  He  had  been  hidden  in  Hadley.  This  is  the  story  that  used  to 
be  told,  but  it  has  recently  been  disproved. 


1675       Storming  of  the  Narragansett  Fort.  77 

had  been  destroyed  by  the  force  under  Captain  Mason,  forty 

years  before.     According  to  information  afterwards  received 

from  a  captive,  the  Indian  warriors  here  collected 

were  no  fewer  than  three  thousand  and  five  him-    St0°fr^g 

dred.    They  were  on  their  guard,  and  had  fortified  Nar^gansett 

their  hold  to  the  best  of  their  skill.     It  was  on  a 

solid  piece  of  upland  of  five  or  six  acres,  wholly  surrounded 

by  a  swamp.     On  the  inner  side  of  this  natural  defence,  they 

had  driven  rows  of  palisades  ;  and  the  only  entrance  to  the 

enclosure  was  over  a  rude  bridge  consisting  of  a  felled  tree. 

46.  Having  passed  without  shelter  a  very  cold  night,  the 
English  had  made  a  march  of  eighteen  miles  through  deep 
snow,  scarcely  halting  to  refresh  themselves  with  food.     In 
this  condition    they  immediately  advanced    to  the    attack. 
The  Massachusetts  troops  were  in  the  van  of  the  storming 
column,  next  came  the  two  Plymouth  companies,  and  then 
the  force  from  Connecticut.     The  foremost  of  the  assailants 
were  received  with  a  well-directed  fire.     Captain  Johnson,  of 
Roxbury,  was  shot  dead  on  the  bridge,  as  he  was  rushing 
over  it  at  the  head  of  his  company.     Others  shared  his  fate  ; 
but,  nothing  discouraged  by  the  fall  of  their  leaders,  the  men 
pressed  on,  and  a  sharp  conflict  followed,  which,  with  fluc 
tuating  success,  lasted  for  two  or  three  hours.     There  was 
nothing    for   either   party  but    to  conquer  or  die.,  enclosed 
together  as  they  were.     At  length  victory  declared  for  the 
English,  who  finished  their  work  by  setting  fire  to  the  wig 
wams  within  the  fort.     The  military  strength  of  the  formid 
able  Narragansett  tribe  was  irreparably  broken." 

47.  "  Philip  was  hunted  from  spot  to  spot.     At  last,  with 
a  scanty  band  of  followers,  who  still  remained  true  to  his 
desperate   fortunes,    the    unhappy   man   wandered  back  to 
Mount  Hope,  the  ancient  dwelling  of  his  fathers.       Death 
Here  he  lurked  about,  like  a  spectre,  among  scenes    of  R"lip. 
of  former   power   and   prosperity,  now  bereft  of  home,  of 
family,  and  friends.     Little  minds  are  tamed  and  subdued  by 
misfortune,  but  great  minds  risa  above  it.     The  very  idea  of 


78  ffew  England.  1692 

submission  awakened  the  fury  of  Philip,  and  he  smote  to 
death  one  of  his  followers  who  proposed  an  expedient  of  peace. 
The  brother  of  the  victim  made  his  escape,  and,  in  revenge, 
betrayed  the  retreat  of  his  chieftain. 

48.  A  body  of  white  men  and  Indians  were  immediately 
dispatched  to  the  swamp  where  Philip  lay  crouched,  glaring 
with  fury  and  despair.     Before  he  was  aware  of  their   ap 
proach    they   had   begun    to    surround   him.      In    a    little 
while    he    saw   five    of  his  trustiest  followers  laid  dead  at 
his   feet.     All   resistance  was  vain.     He  rushed  forth  from 
his  cover  and  made  a  headlong  attempt  to  escape  ;  but  was 
shot  through  the  heart  by  a  renegade    Indian  of   his    own 
nation.     Such  is  the  scanty  story  of  the  brave  but  unfortu 
nate  King  Philip."     His  body  was  cut  in  quarters,  and  his 
head  was  sent  to  Plymouth,  where  it  was  exposed  on  a  gibbet 
for  twenty  years.     His  captive  child  was  sold  as  a  slave  in 
Bermuda. 

49.  In  the  year  1692,   Sir    William  Phipps,   a  native  of 
Maine,  came  from  England  with 

a  commission  from   King  Wil 
liam,  as  governor  of  Massachu 
setts.       Within     the 

Witchcraft.  limits  of  llis  Provincc 
were  the  old  colony 
of  Plymouth  and  the  territories 
of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia.     All 
this  region,  not  including  New  THE  STOCKS. 

Hampshire,  was  now  called  Massachusetts.  Phipps  was  a 
"  ship  carpenter  and  a  fortune-seeker.  Accustomed  from 
boyhood  to  the  axe  and  the  oar,  he  had  gained  distinction 

1  "  The  stocks  and  pillory  were  movable  machines  on  wheels,  and 
had  no  fixed  position.  Both  were  used  as  a  means  of  enforcing  attend 
ance  at  church  meetings,  or  punishing  offences  against  the  church,  and 
their  location  at  its  very  portal  served  no  doubt  as  a  gentle  reminder  to 
the  congregation.  It  is  related  that  in  the  year  1753  a  woman  stood  for 
an  hour  in  the  pillory  of  the  Town  House,  Boston,  amid  the  scoffs  aud 
jeers  of  the  multitude." — .Drake' 


1692 


The  Salem  Witchcraft. 


79 


only  by  his  wealth,  the  fruits  of  his  enterprise  with  the  div 
ing-bell  in  raising  treasures  from  a  Spanish  wreck."  Almost 
as  soon  as  he  assumed  the  government  he  became  engaged  in 
a  very  frightful  business. 

50.  In  the  little  village  of  Salem,  now  Danvers,  were  two 
young  girls,  in  the  family  of  a  clergyman,  who  "began  to 
have  strange  caprices.     They  complained  of  being  pinched 
and  pricked  with  pins  ;  and  often  would  pretend  to  be  seized 
with   strange   convulsions,   and  would  cry  out  that  witches 
were  afflicting  them."     This  led  to  a  strange  excitement  and 
alarm.     Numbers  of  persons  were  accused  of  the  crime  of 
witchcraft,  and,  to  escape  torture,  con 
fessed    that   they   were   guilty.     More 

than  fifty,  in  this  way,  were  compelled 
to  make  such  a  confession.  Twenty 
persons  were  put  to  death,  and  many 
others  were  cast  into  prison.  This 
dreadful  delusion  lasted  more  than  six 
months  ;  and  it  was  not  until  some  of 
the  magistrates  themselves,  and  even 
the  governor's  wife,  were  accused,  that 
the  people  began  to  see  how  terribly 
they  had  been  deceived.  All  the  pris 
oners  were  set  at  liberty;  "but  the 
innocent  dead  could  not  be  restored  to 
life  ;  and  the  hill  where  they  were  exe 
cuted  will  always  remind  people  of  the  saddest  and  most 
humiliating  passage  in  our  history." 

51.  "It  is  well  known  that  no    exclusive  reproach  can 
with  justice  be  cast  upon  any  part  of  New  England  on  ac 
count  of  a  delusion  which    equally  prevailed   in   the    most 
enlightened    countries    of  Europe,   and    received  witcllcraft 
the  countenance  of  the  most  learned  and  intel-         in 
ligent  men  and  upright  magistrates.      In  contem-       ur°Pe- 
plating  this  sorrowful  page  in  the  history  of  our  ancestors, 
we  must  bear  in  mind  that,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  no 


THE  PILLORY. 


80 


New  York  and  New  Jersey. 


1609 


peculiar  reproach  attaches  to  them.  They  acted  upon 
principles  which  all  professed,  and  in  which  the  sincere  in  all 
parts  of  Christendom  reposed  an  undoubting  faith." 


New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

1,  Two  years  after  Smith  and  his  companions  had  begun  to 
fell  the  trees  for  the    settlement  of  Jamestown,  but  eleven 
years  before  the  Mayflower    landed    the  Pilgrims    at    Ply 
mouth,  the  Half-Moon,  a  Dutch 

ship,  entered  the  harbor  of  New 

,  York    (1609).1      Its 
Discovery  of 

the  Hudson  commander,  Henry 
river.  Hudson,  was  an  Eng 
lishman.  In  the  service  of  his 
countrymen,  Hudson  had  twice 
tried  to  find  a  shorter  passage 
by  water  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  than  the  one  dis 
covered  by  Magellan  around  the 
southern  part  of  the  American 
continent.  Now,  in  the  service 
of  a  Dutch  company,  he  was  making  his  third  attempt. 

2.  "  The  ship  was  soon  visited  by  canoes  full  of  native 
warriors  ;  but  no  one  was  suffered  to  come  on  board,  though 
their  oysters  and  beans  were  gladly  purchased.     The  first  of 

Europeans,   Hudson,   now   began  to  explore  the 

Half-Moon   great  river  which    stretched  before  him  to   the 

ascending  north,  opening,  as  he  hoped,  the  way  to   eastern 

seas.     Slowly  drifting  upward  with  the  flood- tide, 

he  anchored  one  night  just  above  Yonkers,  in  sight  of  '  a 

1  In  behalf  of  the  French,  it  has  been  claimed,  and  the  claim  has  been 
very  generally  allowed,  that  Verrazzani  explored  a  part  of  the  eastern 
coast  of  North  America  in  1524,  and  then  discovered  the  Hudson  river. 
But  this  claim  has  been  disputed  (See  the  works  on  the  subject  r>y  H,  C- 
Murphy  and  J,  0,  Brevoort  \, 


HENRY   HUDSON. 


1609    The  Half -Moon  Ascending  the  Hudson.        81 

high  point  of  land,  which  showed  out '  five  leagues  off  to  the 
north.  The  next  day,  a  southeast  wind  carried  him  up 
rapidly  through  the  majestic  pass  guarded  by  the  frowning 


THE   HALF-MOON    ASCENDING   THE   HUDSON. 

Donderberg.  At  nightfall  he  anchored  his  yacht  near 
West  Point,  in  the  midst  of  the  sublimest  scenery  of  the 
mountains. 

3,  The  next  morning  was  misty  until  the  sun  arose,  and 
the  grandeur  of  the  overhanging  highlands  was  again  re 
vealed.  A  fair  south  wind  sprung  up  as  the  weather  became 
clear,  and  a  bright  autumnal  day  succeeded.  Running  sixty 
miles  up  along  the  varied  shores  which  lined  the  deep  chan 
nel,  and  delighted  every  moment  with  the  ever-changing 
scenery  and  the  magnificent  virgin  forests  which  clothed  the 
river- banks  with  their  gorgeous  autumnal  hues,  Hudson  ar 
rived  towards  evening  opposite  the  loftier  '  mountains  which 
lie  from  the  river's  side,'  and  anchored  the  Half-Moon  near 


82  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  1609 

Catskill  landing.     Here  he  found  a  '  very  loving  people,  and 
very  old  men.' 

4.  The  friendly  natives   flocked    on   board    the  yacht  as 
she  remained  lazily  at  anchor  the  next  morning,  and  brought 
the  crew  '  ears  of  Indian  corn,  and  pumpkins,  and  tobacco/ 
which  were   readily  bought  for  trifles.       In  the  afternoon 
Hudson  went  six  miles  further  up  the  river,  and  anchored 
one  night  near  the  marshes  which  divide  the  channel  oppo 
site  the  nourishing  city  which  now  bears  his  name.  Early  the 
next  morning  he  set  sail  again,  and,  slowly  working  his  way 
through  the  shoaling  channel  and  among  the  small  islands 
which   embarrassed    navigation,   anchored    toward    evening 
about  eighteen  miles  further  up.     Here  the  Half-Moon  re 
mained  at  anchor  all  the  next  day.     With  the  flood-tide  on 
the  following  morning  the  vessel  ran  higher  up,  and  an 
chored  in  deep  water  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Al 
bany. 

5.  The  people  of  the  country  came  flocking  on  board,  and 
brought  grapes  and  pumpkins,  and  beaver  and  otter  skins, 
which  were  purchased  for  beads,  knives,  and  hatchets.     Here 
the  yacht  lingered  for  several  days.     Everything  now  seemed 
to  indicate  that  the  Half-Moon  had  reached  the  head  of  ship 
navigation.     The  downward  current  was  fresh  and  clear,  the 
shoaling  channel  was  narrow  and  obstructed  ;  yet  Hudson, 
unwilling,  perhaps,  to    abandon    his    long-cherished    hope, 
dispatched  the  mate,  with  a  boat's  crew,  to  sound  the  river 
higher  up.     After  going  eight  or  nine  leagues,  and  finding 
'  but  seven  feet  of  water  and  inconstant  soundings,7  the  ex 
ploring  party  returned,  and  reported  that  they  had  *  found  it 
to  be  at  an  end. for  shipping  to  go  in.'     Hudson  now  reluc 
tantly  prepared  to  return." 

6.  The  Dutch  made  no  more  attempts  to  find  a  north 

western  passage  from  ocean  to  ocean,  but  they  sent 

first       ships  to  the  country  which  Hudson  had  discovered 

settlement.  for  tnem?  and  expiore(j  the  coast  from  both  sides 

of  Delaware  bay  to  Massachusetts  bay.    To  a  company  of  mer- 


1614-47  Growth  of  the  Colony.  83 

chants  was  given  the  exclusive  right  to  trade  for  three  years 
with  all  this  territory.  In  the  grant  thus  made  the  region  was 
named  New  Netherlands  (1614)1.  Previous  to  this  grant,  how 
ever,  little  fortified  trading  houses  had  been  built  in  the  prov 
ince,  one  of  them  on  the  island  of  Manhattan.  Another  was 
built  just  south  of  the  present  city  of  Albany,  which  brought 
-he  Dutch  in  friendly  relations  with  the  Mohawks,  the  most 
easterly  tribe  of  the  Iroquois  (ir-o-Jcwoiz'),  or  Five  Nations. 

7.  A  few  years  later  thirty  families  arrived  from  Holland. 
Several  of  these  settled  at  Orange,  now  Albany,  while  "  a 
party  under  the  command  of  May,  who  has  left  his  name  on 
the  southern  county  and  cape  of  New  Jersey,"  ascended  the 
Delaware  river  and  on  its  eastern  bank  built  a  fort.    In  1626, 
Peter  Min'-u-it  came  as  the  governor  of  New  Netherlands. 
He  soon  contracted  with   the  Indians  for  the  purchase  of 
Manhattan  island,  giving  beads,  buttons,  and  other  glitter 
ing  trinkets,  to  the  value  of  about  twenty-four  dollars,  for 
more  than  twenty  thousand  acres  of  land.     Fort  Amsterdam 
was  built,  and  about  this  centre  wooden  huts,  with  roofs  of 
straw  and  chimneys  of  wood,  soon  began  to  cluster. 

8.  The  growth  of  the    colony   was   not  rapid,    although 
every  individual  who  succeeded  in  forming  a  settlement  .of 
fifty  persons   had  a  large   tract    of  land   granted   to   him. 
These  land-holders  were  called  patroons  ;  and  in 

quite  recent  times  the  claims  of  their  descendants  Of  t?e°coiony. 
to  rent,  led  to  the  anti-rent  troubles  in  the  State 
of  Ne\v  York.  Minuit  was  succeeded  by  the  renowned  Wou- 
ter  Van  Twil'-ler,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  Kieft  (keeft)  ;  and  all 
this  time  there  were  disputes  with  the  English  settlers  on  the 
Connecticut.  The  Dutch  had  first  explored  the  river,  and 
even  occupied  its  banks.  There  were  disputes,  too,  with  the 
Swedes,  who  had  planted  a  colony  in  the  southern  part  of  New 
Netherlands.  There  were  also  troubles  Avith  the  Indians. 

9.  The  prosperity  of  the  colony  dates  from  the  arrival,  in 


1  Brodhead  spells  the  name  N^w  Netherland,  in  the  singular  form, 


84 


New  York  and  New  Jersey.         1647-55 


1647,  of  the  brave  and  honest  Peter  Stuyvesant  (sti'-ve- 
sant],  the  last  of  the  Dutch  governors.  In  his  early  military 
career  he  had  lost  a  leg,  which  was  replaced  by  a  wooden  one 


with  silver  bands,  giving  rise  to 
the  tradition  that  he  wore  a  silver 
leg.  As  governor  of  New  Nether 
lands  he  made  peace  with  the 
English  settlers  in  Connecticut 
DUTCH  HOUSE.  &**.&  with  the  Indians  ;  he  subdued 

the     Swedes     on     the     Delaware 

(1655)  ;  and  tried  in  every  way  to  encourage  trade  and  agri 
culture,  as  well  as  to  induce  people  to  join  the  settlement.1 

1  In  1698,  the  Earl  of  Bellamont  became  governor.       As  commerce 

was  greatly  disturbed  by  pirates,  lie  sent  out  a  bold  captain  named  Kidd, 

to  capture  their  vessels  ;  but  Kidd  was  a  bad  man,  and  knowing  that 

Kidd         there  were  very  many  Spanish  ships  carrying  across  the 

ocean  gold,  silver,  and   other  treasures  from  America,  he 

determined  to  turn  pirate  himself.      He   continued  on   this  career   for 

several  years,  and  is  said  to  have  obtained  immense  quantities  of  gold 

and   rich  treasures,  some  of  which  he  is  reported  to  have  buried  on 


1664  New  NetJiertands  Lost.  85 

10.  These  dangers  were  scarcely  settled  before  a  new  and 
greater  one  appeared  ;  for  Charles  the  Second,  caring  noth 
ing  for  the  claims  of  the  Dutch,  granted  to  his  brother,,  the 
Duke  of  York,  all  the  country  from  the  Connec-        The 
ticut  river  to  Delaware  bay  ;  and  a  fleet  was  sent 

to  take  possession  of  it.  When  the  fleet  appeared  Netherlands, 
before  New  Amsterdam,  the  citizens,  hoping  for  greater  priv 
ileges  under  English  rule,  were  unwilling  to  make  any 
defense.  But  Stuyvesant,  faithful  to  his  trust  to  the  last,  re 
luctantly,  and  not  till  the  English  were  in  actual  possession 
of  the  town,  was  compelled  to  march  out  of  the  fort  and 
surrender  New  Netherlands.  With  this  change  of  masters, 
New  Amsterdam,  having  a  population  of  fifteen  hundred 
souls  speaking  eighteen  different  languages,  changed  its  name 
to  New  York,  and  Fort  Orange  was  presently  called  Albany 
(1664).  In  less  than  ten  years  after,  while  England  was  at 
war  with  Holland,  the  Dutch  regained  their  former  posses 
sions,  but,  after  fifteen  months,  returned  them  to  the  Eng 
lish.1 

11.  In  the  course  of  its  colonial  history,  New  Jersey  passed 
through  many  ownerships.     The  claim  of  the  English  king 
Henry  VII.  came  first,  by  reason  of  the  discoveries  of  the 


Long  Island  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  At  last  he  was  seized 
and  sent  to  England,  where  he  suffered  death  for  his  crimes  (1701).  His 
buried  treasures  have  been  sought  for  at  various  places. 

1  In  consequence  of  the   arbitrary  conduct  of   James    II.,  a    revo 
lution  took    place  in  England ;    the    king  fled    to  France,   and    the 
English  crown  was  bestowed  upon  William  and  Mary  (1688-9).     The 
news  of  these  proceedings  was  received  in   New  York  with   demon 
strations  of  satisfaction.      Jacob  Leisler,  aided  by  several 
hundred  armed  men,  and  with  the  general  approbation  of       Leisler 
the  citizens,  took  possession  of  the  fort  there  in  the  name    Miumrne 
of  the  new  sovereigns.    He  continued  at  the  head  of  affairs, 
managing  with  prudence  and  energy,  for  more  than  two  years,  his  son- 
in-law,  Milborne,  acting  as  his  deputy.     On    the  arrival  of  Governor 
Sloughter,  bearing  a  commission  direct  from  William  and  Mary,  Leisler 
surrendered  all  authority.     This  would  not   satisfy  his  enemies  ;  they 
were  bent  upon  his  destruction.     So  he   and  Milborne  were  arrested, 
tried  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  condemned  to  death.    Sloughter,  while 
drunk  at  a  feast,  signed  the  death  warrant,  and  both  men  were  executed. 


86  New  Yorft  and  New  Jersey.  1664 

younger  Cabot.  Then,  as  part  of  New  Netherlands,  it  was  a 
Dutch  possession.  Then,  by  a  gift  from  King  Charles  the 
Second,  it,  with  New  York,  became  the  property 
rsey>  of  the  Duke  of  York.  It  was  next  sold  to  Lord 
Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,1  receiving  its  name  in  honor 
of  Sir  George,  who,  as  governor  of  the  little  island  of  Jersey, 
in  the  British  channel,  had  defended  it  for  the  king's  father, 
Charles  I.,  during  that  monarch's  contest  with  the  parliament. 
Then,  Berkeley  selling  his  interest  to  two  Quakers,  New 
Jersey  was  owned  by  three  persons.  Again,  for  a  period  of 
thirteen  months,  the  Dutch  were  in  possession  ;  and  then  the 
English.  English  proprietors  effected  a  division  of  the  terri 
tory  into  eastern  and  western  portions,  one  of  the  parts  be 
ing  called  East  Jersey,  and  the  other  West  Jersey.  By  pur 
chase  (in  1682),  the  province  became  the  property  of  twelve 
Quakers,  of  whom  William  Penn  was  one  ;  but  twenty  years 
of  rule  were  twenty  years  of  strife  and  trouble,  and  the 
Quakers  finally  surrendered  their  powers  of  government  to 
the  crown.  New  Jersey,  as  a  royal  province,  was  united  to 
New  York,  and  so  continued  for  thirty-six  years.2 

12.  We  have  seen  that  the  Dutch  built  a  fort  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Delaware,  in  New  Jersey.  A  number  of  fami 
lies,  Dutch  and  Swedes,  also  made  their  homes  in  the  prov 
ince,  the  former  in  the  eastern  part,  the  latter  in  the  south 
western  part.  But  the  actual  colonization  of  New  Jersey  did 
not  commence  before  1664.  In  that  year,  some  Puritans 


1  Berkeley  and  Carteret  were  already  the  proprietors  of  Carolina, 

2  In  1674,  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  appointed  governor  of  New  York, 
and  received  its  surrender  by  the  Dutch  after  their  fifteen  months'  repos 
session  of  it.     In  1680  he  seized  the  government  of  East  Jersey,  depriv 
ing  the  governor,  Philip  Carteret,  brother  of  the  proprietor,  of  his  office. 
In  1681  he  was  recalled  to  England.     New  England  having  been  consoli 
dated,  he  was  appointed  its  governor  in  1686.     In  1688,  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  were  added  to  his  jurisdiction.     (Brodhead's  History  of  New 
York,  and  Palfrey's  of  New  England,  treat  the  story  of  the  rescue  of  the 
Connecticut  Charter  and  its  concealment  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree  as  a 
"  tradition."     Palfrey  says  :  "  No  writing  of  the  period  alludes  to  this 
remarkable  occurrence." 


1632  Lord  Baltimore. 


from  New  England,  who  had  dwelt  for  a  time  on  Long 
Island,  left  the  island  and  established  themselves  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  now  Elizabeth  ;  and  there  the  first  governor,  Car- 
teret,  brother  of  the  proprietor,  took  up  his  abode.1 


Maryland. 

13.  Among  the  notable  persons  in  attendance  at  the  court 
of  James  1.  was  Sir  George  Oalvert,  distinguished  for  his 
learning  and  benevolence.  Becoming  a  Roman  Catholic,  he 
freely  confessed  the  same  to  the  king,  and  resigned  j,or(i 
a  high  office  which  he  was  holding  at  the  time.  Baltimore. 
Two  acts  of  James  showed  that  Calvert  continued  to  be  held 
in  esteem  by  that  monarch  notwithstanding  the  latter  's  con 
version  to  the  Catholic  Church.  The  title  of  Lord  Baltimore 
was  conferred  upon  Calvert,  and  to  him  also  was  given  a  large 
part  of  the  island  of  Newfoundland.  "  How  zealous  Calvert 
was  in  selecting  suitable  emigrants  for  his  Newfoundland  col 
ony,  how  earnest  to  promote  order  and  industry,  how  lavishly 
he  expended  his  estate  in  advancing  the  interests  of  his  settle 
ment,  —  is  related  by  those  who  have  written  of  his  life." 
But  his  efforts,  owing  to  the  severe  cold  of  the  climate  — 
"  both  land  and  sea  were  frozen  the  greater  part  of  the  time  " 
—  were  not  rewarded  with  success  ;  and  he  asked  for  an  un 
cultivated  domain  in  a  warmer  climate.  This  request  was 
granted,  not,  however,  by  King  James,  but  by  his  successor, 


1  The  opposition  of  Massachusetts  to  the  "Navigation  Act,"  and 
other  obnoxious  laws  of  Parliament,  displeased  the  king,  Charles  II. ,  and. 
he  declared  her  charter  void.  His  death  occurring  not  long  after,  his 
successor,  James  II.,  pursued  the  same  arbitrary  policy,  and,  in  1686,  de 
prived  Massachusetts  of  her  charter  government,  In  the  same  year  An- 
dros  was  appointed  royal  governor  of  New  England.  These  proceedings 
on  the  part  of  King  James  rendered  him  so  unpopular,  that,  when  the 
news  of  the  English  Revolution  and  of  his  dethronement  reached  Boston, 
in  1689,  it  caused  great  rejoicing.  Andros  and  his  officers,  whose  tyranny- 
had  made  them  odious  to  the  people,  were  seized  and  sent  to  England, 
when  the  New  England  colonies  established  their  former  modes  of  gov 
ernment.  (See  ?J  39,  p.  74.) 


88  Maryland.  1634 

Charles  I.  The  patent  was  duly  prepared,  but  before  it 
could  receive  the  king's  name  and  seal,  Lord  Baltimore  died, 
and  it  was  then  issued  to  his  oldest  son,  who  by  the  English 
law  of  inheritance  received  the  title  as  well  as  the  estate  of 
his  father  (1632). l 

14.  "  Lord  Baltimore  was  unwilling  to  take  upon  himself 
the  sole  risk  of  colonizing  his  province.     Others  joined  with 
him  in  the  adventure  ;  and,  all  difficulties  being  overcome, 

Commence-  ^s  ^wo  Brothers,  of  whom  Leonard  Calvert  was 
ment  of  appointed  his  lieutenant,  embarked  themselves  for 
'on'  the  voyage  in  the  good  ship  Ark,  and  a  pinnace 
called  the  Dove.  It  was  not  till  the  last  week  of  Febru 
ary  (1634)  that  they  arrived  at  Point  Comfort,  in  Virginia; 
where,  in  obedience  to  the  express  letters  of  King  Charles, 
they  were  welcomed  with  courtesy  and  humanity  by  Governor 
Harvey.  The  governor  offered  them  what  Virginia  had 
obtained  so  slowly,  and  at  so  much  cost,  from  England  :  cat 
tle,  and  hogs,  and  poultry  ;  two  or  three  hundred  stocks 
already  grafted  with  apples  and  pears,  peaches  and  cherries. 
Clayborne,  who  had  begun  a  trade  in  furs  with  the  Indians 
under  a  license  from  the  king,  also  appeared,  predicting  the 
hostility  of  the  natives. 

15.  After  a  week's   kind  entertainment,  the  adventurers 
bent  their  course  to  the  north,   and  entered  the  Potomac. 
Under  an  island,  which  can  now  hardly  be  recognized  with 
certainty,  the  Ark  came  to  an  anchor  ;  while  Calvert,  with 
the  Dove,  ascended  the  stream.     At  about  forty-seven  leagues 
above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  he  came  upon  the  village  of 
Pis-cat'-a-qua,  an  Indian  settlement  nearly  opposite  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  found  an  Englishman,  who  had  lived  many 


1  "  It  was  intended,  it  is  said,  that  the  country  granted  by  this  charter 
should  have  been  called  Crescentia;  but  when  it  was  presented  to  the  king 
(Charles  I.,  of  England)  for  his  signature,  in  conformity  to  his  majesty's 
wishes  the  name  of  the  province  was  changed  to  that  of  Maryland,  in 
honor  of  his  queen,  Henrietta  Maria,  a  daughter  of  the  great  king  Henry 
IV.  of  France." — Bowman's  Hist,  of  Maryland. 


1634  Commencement  of  Colonization.  89 

years  among  the  Indians  as  a  trader  and  spoke  their  language 
well.  With  him  for  an  interpreter,  a  parley  was  held  with 
them.  To  the  request  for  leave  for  the  new  comers  to  sit 
down  in  his  country,  the  chieftain  of  the  tribe  would  neither 
bid  them  go  nor  stay.  '  They  might  use  their  own  discre- 
+ion.' 

16.  Taking  with  him  the  trader,  Calvert  went  down  the 
river,  examining  the  creeks  and  estuaries  nearer  the  Chesa 
peake.  He  entered  the  branch  which  is  now  called  St. 
Mary's  ;  and,  about  four  leagues  from  its  junction  with  the 
Potomac,  anchored  at  an  Indian  town.  The  native  inhabi 
tants,  having  suffered  from  the  superior  power  of  the  Sus- 
quehannas,  who  occupied  the  district  between  that  river  and 
Delaware  bay,  had  already  resolved  to  move  into  places  of 
more  security  ;  and  many  of  them  had  already  begun  to  mi 
grate.  It  was  easy,  by  presents  of  cloth  and  axes,  of  hoes 
and  knives,  to  gain  their  good-will,  and  to  purchase  their 
rights  to  the  soil  which  they  were  preparing  to  abandon. 
^17.  On  the  twenty-fifth,  the  day  of  the  Annunciation,  in 
the  island  under  which  their  great  ship,  the  Ark,  lay  moored,, 
a  Jesuit  priest,  who  was  of  the  party,  offered  the  sacrifice  of 
the  mass,  which,  in  that  region  of  the  world,  had  never  been 
celebrated  before.  This  being  ended,  he  and  his  assistants 
took  upon  their  shoulders  the  great  cross  which  they  had 
hewn  from  a  tree.  Going  in  procession  to  the  place  that  had 
been  designated,  the  governor  (Calvert)  and  other  Catholics, 
and  some  Protestants  as  well  participating  in  the  ceremony, 
they  erected  the  cross  as  a  trophy  to  Christ  the  Saviour,  while 
the  litany  of  the  holy  cross  was  chanted  humbly  on  their 
bended  knees.1 

18.  The  Indian  women  taught  the  wives  of  the  new  comers 
to  make  bread  of  maize.  The  warriors  of  the  tribe  instructed 
the  huntsmen  how  rich  the  forests  of  America  were  in  game, 

1  The  town  purchased  of  the  Indians  was  called  by  the  settlers  St. 
Mary's.  It  was  anticipated  that  it  would  become  a  great  city.  None  of 
the  houses  then  built  now  remain,  nor  is  there  even  a  village  there. 


90  Maryland. 


and  joined  them  in  the  chase.  As  the  planters  had  come  into 
possession  of  ground  already  subdued,  they  at  once  planted 
cornfields  and  gardens.  No  sufferings  were  endured.  No 
fears  of  want  arose.  The  foundation  of  the  colony  of  Mary 
land  was  peacefully  and  happily  laid  ;  and  in  six  months  it 
advanced  more  than  Virginia  in  as  many  years. 

19.  Toleration  grew  up  in  the  province  silently,  as  a  cus 
tom  of  the  land.     Through  the  benignity  of  the  administra 
tion,  no  person  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  was  per 
mitted   to   be    molested    on    account    of    religion.     Roman 
Catholics,  who  were  oppressed  by  the  laws  of  England,  were 
sure  to  find  a  peaceful  asylum  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Poto 
mac  ;   and   there,    too,    Protestants  were    sheltered    against 
Protestant  intolerance.     From  the  first,  men  of  foreign  birth 
were  encouraged  to  plant,  and  enjoyed  equal  advantages  with 
those  of  the  English  and  Irish  nations.     Such  were  the  beau 
tiful  auspices  under  which  Maryland  started  into  being." 

20.  There  ought  to  have  been  peace  in  the  colony,  but  there 
was  not.     From  the  first,  Clayborne,  who  had  established  a 
trading  post  on  the  largest  island  in  Chesapeake  bay,  refused 

Clayborne's  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Governor  Cal- 
ciaim.  vert^  and  defended  his  claim  by  force  of  arms  ; 
but  he  was  defeated  and  obliged  to  flee.  Afterward,  however, 
he  returned,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  province,  com 
pelling  the  governor,  in  his  turn,  to  flee  into  Virginia  for 
safety.  Calvert  the  next  year  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  mili 
tary  force  and  regained  possession  of  his  government. 

21.  While  Cromwell  and  his  Puritan  associates  were  a  power 
in  England,  the  Protestant  party  obtained  control  of  affairs 
in  Maryland,  and,  by  an  act  of  the  Assembly,  Catholics  were 

declared  not  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  laws 
Civil  war.  ^  ^  colony.  This  measure  caused  a  civil  war 
between  the  Catholics  and  the  Protestants.  After  Crom 
well's  death,  the  rights  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  restored,  and 
the  colony  enjoyed  a  long  repose.  Like  Virginia,  it  was  "  a 
colony  of  planters.  Its  staple  was  tobacco.  A  state  house, 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand  ponnds  of  tobacco," 


William  Penn.  91 


22.  During  the  revolution  in   England  that  placed  Wil 
liam,  Prince  of  Orange,  and  his  wife  Mary,  on  the  throne,  the 
peace  of  Maryland  was  again  disturbed."    An  armed  associa 
tion  gained  possession  of  the  government  in  the      Further 
names  of  William  and  Mary,  and  Maryland,  by  the      history, 
act  of  the  king,  was  made  a  royal  province.     Lord  Baltimore 
and  his  heirs  were  thus  deprived  of  their  rights  till  1715, 
when  the  fourth  Lord  Baltimore,  then  a  very  young  child, 
had  his  claim  as  the  proprietor  of  the  colony  acknowledged  by 
George  I.1 

Pennsylvania  and  Delaware. 

23.  We  have  already  spoken  of  William  Penn  (see  p.  86). 

Although  brought  up  in  wealth 
and  luxury,  he  soon  learned  "  to 
despise  all  vanities  and 
all  ayarioe/' and  join- WilliamPenn- 
ed  the  new  sect  called  Quakers,  or 
Friends,  of  whom  Cromwell  said  : 
"  They  are  a  people  whom  I  can 
not  win  with  gifts,  honors,  offices, 
or  places."  By  becoming  a  Quak 
er,  Penn  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  his  father  ;  and  he  suffered 
much  ill-treatment,  even  to  im- 
prisonment,  from  agents  of  the 
government.  The  death  of  his  father,  who  had  distinguished 

1  The  northern  boundary  of  Maryland  is  known  as  Mason  and  Dixon's 
Line.  The  line  separates  Pennsylvania  from  the  former  slave  states, 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  "It  was  run,  with  the  exception  of  about 
twenty-two  miles,  by  Charles  Mason  and  Jeremiah  Dixon,  two  English 
mathematicians  and  surveyors,  between  November  loth,  1763,  and  De 
cember  26th,  1767.  During  the  excited  debate  in  Congress  in  1820,  on 
the  question  of  excluding  slavery  from  Missouri,  the  eccentric  John 
Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  Va.,  made  great  use  of  the  phrase,  Mason  and 
Dixon's  Line,  which  was  caught  up  and  re-echoed  by  every  newspaper 
#1  the  land,  and  thus  gained  a  proverbial  celebrity  which  it  still  retains/' 


92  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware. 

himself  in  the  history  of  England  by  the  conquest  of  Jamaica, 
and  had  been  admiral  of  the  British  navy,  left  him  a  claim 
against  the  government  for  sixteen  thousand  pounds. 

24.  Desiring  to  found  a  colony  where  civil  and  religious 
liberty  might  dwell  together  in  peace,   Penn  applied  for  a 
grant  of  land  west  of  the  Delaware  river.     "  To  the  prodigal 
Charles  II.,  always  embarrassed  for  money,  the  grant  of  the 
province  seemed  the  easiest  way"  of   cancelling  the   claim 
which    Penn    had    inherited.      A   charter   was   accordingly 
obtained.     It  was  Penn's  design  at  first  to  call  the  territory 
New  Wales,  but  afterward  he  suggested  the  word  Sylvania,  as 
suitable  for  a  land  covered  with  forests.     The  king,  however, 
would   not  consent  to  this,   but  at  last  prefixed  the  word 
Penn,  in  honor,  as  he  said,   of  his  late  friend,  the  admiral. 
This,  instead  of  pleasing  Penn,  made  him  think  that  people 
would   accuse   him   of  being  vain  ;  and   he  offered   twenty, 
guineas  to  the  king's  secretary  to  have  the  name  changed. 

25.  Previous  to  this — more  than  forty  years  before — Gusta- 
vus  Adolphus,  the  brave  king  of  Sweden,  proposed  to  found 
in  America  ' '  a  free  state,  where  the  laborer  should  reap  the 

Tlie  fruit  of  his  toil,  where  the  rights  of  conscience 
Swedes  in  should  be  inviolate,  and  which  should  be  open 
elaware.  to  tiie  w}loie  protestant  world. "  A  Hollander  pre 
sented  himself  to  the  king,  and  laid  before  him  a  proposition 
for  a  trading  company,  to  be  established  in  Sweden,  its  opera 
tions  to  extend  to  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  Full  power 
was  accordingly  given  to  carry  out  this  project,  but  before  the 
necessary  arrangements  could  be  made,  the  German  war  and 
the  king's  death  occurred,  which  caused  the  work  to  be  laid 
aside,  "and  the  whole  project  seemed  about  to  die  with  the 
king.  But  just  as  it  appeared  to  be  at  its  end,  it  received 
new  life. 

26.  Another  Hollander,  by  the   name  of   Peter  Minuit,1 
made  his  appearance  in  Sweden.     He  had  been  in  the  service 


1  Other  writers  speak  of  Minuit  as  a  native  of  Germany  (sec  p.  83). 


1638  Conquest  ~by  Stuyvesant.  93 

of  Holland,  in  America,  but  had  been  recalled  home  and  dis 
missed  from  service.  He  was  noi,  however,  discouraged  by 
this,  and  went  over  to  Sweden,  where  he  renewed  the  repre 
sentations  in  regard  to  the  excellence  of  the  new  country,  and 
the  advantages  that  Sweden  might  derive  from  it.  Queen 
Christina,  then  a  child  of  only  eleven  years  of  age,  who  had 
succeeded  her  royal  father  in  the  government,  was  glad  to 
have  the  project  thus  renewed. 

27.  As  a  good  beginning,  the  first  colony  was  sent  off,  and 
Minuit  was  placed  over  it,  as  being  best  acquainted  in  those 
regions.     They  set  sail  in  a  ship-of-war,  followed  by  a  smaller 
vessel,  both  laden  with  people,  provisions,  ammunition,  and 
merchandise  suitable  for  traffic   and   gifts  to  the  Indians. 
The  ships  reached  their  places  of  destination  ;  and  the  high 
expectations  which  the  emigrants  had  formed  of  that  new 
land  were  well  met  by  the  first  views  which  they  enjoyed  of 
it.     They  made  their  first  landing  on  the  bay  or  entrance  to 
the  river  Poutaxat,  which  they  called  the  river  of  New  Swe 
den.     A  purchase  of  land  was  immediately  made  from  the 
Indians.     Posts  were  driven  into  the  ground  as  landmarks  ; 
and  a  deed  was  drawn  up  for  the  land  thus  purchased.     This 
was  written  in  Dutch,  because  no  Swede  was  yet  able  to  inter 
pret  the  language  of  the  heathen.     The  Indians  subscribed 
their  marks  ;  and  the  writing  was  sent  home  to  Sweden,  to  be 
preserved  in  the  royal  archives''  (1638). 

28.  The  country  thus  bought  of  the  Indians  was  named 
New  Sweden.     The  Swedes  made  a  settlement  near  where 
Wilmington  now  is,  and  their  colony  began  to  prosper  ;  but 
thev  were  not  permitted  to  enioy  their  new  homes 

rrn        -T*    x    i,  i     1     j.u  Dutch 

in  peace.     The  Dutch  regarded  the  settlement  as  claim.-Con- 
an  intrusion  upon  their  territory  of  New  Nether-   st^e^s^t 
lands,  and  molested   the   new  coiners  in  various 
ways.      At  length,  after  a  period  of  more  than  twenty-five 
years,  Governor  Stuyvesant,  with  a  force  of  six  hundred  men, 
proceeded  against  the  Swedes,  and  compelled  them  to  submit 
to  the  Dutch  government  (1655).     (See  p.  84.) 


94  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware.  1682 

29.  We  have  seen  how  the  Dutch,  in  turn,  were  compelled 
to  surrender  New  Netherlands,  including  Delaware.     Penn, 
on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  America,  extended  his  posses 
sions,  by  obtaining  from  the  Duke  of  York  the 

united  to  duke's  title  to  the  "  three  lower  counties,  now 
forming  tne  state  of  Delaware."  Several  ships 
with  emigrants,  chiefly  Quakers,  came  over  in 
1681  and  1682.  Penn  himself  landed  in  1682.  In  confor 
mity  with  his  instructions,  a  site  for  a  city  had  already  been 
selected.  This  city,  he  said,  "  shall  be  called  Philadelphia,  a 
name  which  means  brotherly  love."  He  treated  all  the  set 
tlers  with  kindness  and  liberality,  and  took  great  pains  to 
show  the  Indians  that  he  was  their  friend.  • 

30.  Beneath  a  wide  spreading  elm  tree  Penn  met  the  chiefs 
and  warriors  in  council,   and  made  his  famous  "  treaty  of 
peace  and  friendship."  The  scene  is  thus  described  by  one 

Perm's  w^10  ^ias  wr^ten  a  life  of  the  great  Quaker  :  "  It 
great  is  near  the  close  of  November, — the  lofty  trees  on 
3a  y'  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  have  shed  their  sum 
mer  attire,  the  ground  is  strewed  with  leaves,  and  the  council 
fire  burns  brightly,  fanned  by  the  autumnal  breeze.  Under 
the  wide-branching  elm  the  Indian  tribes  are  assembled,  but 
all  unarmed,  for  no  warlike  weapon  is  allowed  to  disturb  the 
scene.  In  front  are  the  chiefs,  with  their  counsellors  and 
aged  men  on  either  hand.  Behind  them,  in  the  form  of  a 
half  moon,  sit  the  young  men,  and  some  of  the  aged  mat 
rons  ;  while  beyond,  and  disposed  in  still  widening  circles, 
are  seen  the  youth  of  both  sexes.  Among  the  assembled 
chiefs  there  is  one  who  holds  a  conspicuous  rank — the  Great 
Sachem  Tam-i-nend,  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  revered  for 
his  wisdom,  and  beloved  for  his  goodness. 

31.  But  see  !  a  barge  is  approaching,  bearing  at  its  mast 
head  the  broad  pennant  of  the  governor  (Penn).     The  oars  are 
plied  with  measured  strokes,  and  near  the  helm  sits  William 
Penn  attended  by  his  council.     On  the  river's  bank,  waiting 
with    others  to  join  them,  is  the    hospitable  Swede,  whose 


Penn's  Great  Treaty.  95 

dwelling  is  near  the  treaty  ground.  They  land  and  advance 
towards  the  council  fire.  They  pause.  Taminend  puts  on 
his  chaplet,  surmounted  by  a  small  horn,  the  emblem  of 
kingly  power,  and  then,  through  an  interpreter,  he  announces 
to  William  Penn  that  the  nations  are  ready  to  hear  him. 

32.  Being  thus   called   upon,    Penn  begins    his    speech  : 
1  The  Great  Spirit, '  he  says,   '  who  made  me  and  you,  who 
rules  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  who  knows  the  inner 
most  thoughts  of  men,  knows  that  I  and  my  friends  have  a 
hearty  desire  to  live  in  peace  and  friendship  with  you,  and 
serve  you  to  the  utmost  of  our  power.     It  is  not  our  custom 
to  use  hostile  weapons  against  our  fellow  creatures,  for  which 
reason  we  have  come  unarmed.      Our  object   is  not  to  do 
injury,  and  thus  provoke  the  Great  Spirit,  but  to  do  good. 

33.  We  are  met  on  the  broad  pathway  of  good  faith  and 
good  will,  so  that  no  advantage  is  to  be  taken  on  either  side, 
but  all  to  be  openness,  brotherhood,  and  love.     I  shall  not  call 
you  children  or  brothers  only,  for  parents  are  apt  to  whip  their 
children   too    severely,  and   brothers  sometimes  will  differ. 
Neither  will  I  compare  the  friendship  between  us  to  a  chain, 
for  the  rain  may  rust  it,  or  a  tree  may  fall  and  break  it.     But 
I  will  consider  you  as  the  same  flesh  and  blood  with  the 
Christians,  and  the  same  as  if  one  man's  body  were  to  be 
divided  into  two  parts.' 

34.  This  speech  being  listened  to  by  the  Indians  in  per 
fect  silence  and  with  much  gravity,  they  take  some  time  to 
deliberate,  and  then  the  king  orders  one  of  his  chiefs  to  speak 
to  Penn.     The  Indian  orator  advances,   and  in  the  king's 
name  salutes  him.     Then,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  he  makes 
a  speech,  pledging  kindness  and  good  neighborhood,  and  that 
the  Indians  and  English  must  live  in  love  as  long  as  the  sun 
and  moon  shall  endure."  1 


1  The  tree  under  which  the  treaty  was  made  stood  in  what  was  after 
ward  known  as  Kensington,  but  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia.  When  the  British  were  quartered  near  it  during  the  war  of 
American  Independence,  their  general  so  respected  it,  that,  when  his 


96 


North  and  South  Carolina. 


35.  "This   treaty/'  it  has    been  truly  said,  "was  never 

sworn  to  and  never  broken."     The  Quakers  never  abused  or 

cheated    the   natives,    and 

Subsequent  consequently 

history.      there    were    no 

Indian  wars  in  the  territo 
ries  which  they  settled. 
"  Not  a  drop  of  Quaker 
blood  was  ever  shed  by  an 
Indian."  Penn  made  two 
visits  to  England  ;  and  at 
his  death,  which  occurred 
there,  he  left  his  American 
possessions  to  his  sons,  by 
whom  the  government  was 
managed,  most  of  the  time 
through  deputies,  till  the 
Revolution.  Finally  their  claims  were  purchased  by  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 


TREATY    MONUMENT. 


North  and  South  Carolina. 

36.  In  looking  for  the  circumstances  that  gave  to  Carolina 

its  name,  we  come  to  the  first  attempt  to  settle  the  region. 

Some  French  Protestants,  known  as  Huguenots,  with  Ribault 

(re-bo)  as   their   leader,   entered   the   commodious  haven  of 

Port  Eoyal  and  so  named  it.     "  When  they  landed,  all  was 

The        solitude.     The  frightened    Indians  had  fled,   but 

Huguenots  in  they  lured    them   back  with  knives,   beads,  and 

looking-glasses,  and  enticed  two  of  them  on  board 


ships.     Here,  by  feeding,  clothing,  and  caressing  them, 
they  tried  to  wean  them  from  their  fears  ;  but  the  captive  war- 

soldiers  were  cutting  down  every  tree  for  firewood,  he  placed  a  sentinel 
under  it  that  not  a  branch  of  it  might  be  touched.  A  few  years  ago  (in 
1810)  it  was  blown  down,  when  it  was  split  into  wood,  and  many  cups, 
bowls,  and  other  articles  were  made  of  it  to  be  ker>t  as  memorials.  A 
mouumert  marks  the  spot  where  the  tree  stood. 


1562  The  Huguenots  in  Carolina.  97 

riors  moaned  and  lamented  day  and  night,  till  Eibault,  with 
the  prudence  and  humanity  which  seem  always  to  character 
ize  him,  gave  over  his  purpose  of  carrying  them  to  France, 
and  set  them  ashore  again  (1562). 

37.  Preliminary  exploration,  not  immediate  settlement,  had 
been  the  object  of  the  voyage  ;  but  all  was  still  rose  color  in 
the  eyes  of  the  voyagers,  and  many  of  their  number  would 
fain  linger  in  the  New  Canaan.     Eibault  was  more  than  will 
ing  to  humor  them.      He  mustered  his  company  on  deck, 
and  made  them  a  stirring  harangue.     He  appealed  to  their 
courage  and  their  patriotism,  told  them  how  from  a  mean 
origin  men  rise  by  enterprise  and  daring  to  fame  and  fortune, 
and  demanded  who  among  them  would  stay  behind  and  hold 
Port  Eoyal  for  the  king.     The  greater  part  came  forward,  of 
whom  thirty  were  chosen. 

38.  A  fort  was  forthwith  begun,  on  a  small  stream,  which 
they  named  Charlesfort — the  Carolina — in  honor  of  Charles 
IX.  of  France.    But  how  were  they  to  subsist  ?   Their  thought 
was  not   of   subsistence,  but   of    gold.     Of    the   thirty,  the 
greater   number   were  soldiers  and  sailors,  with  a  few  gen 
tlemen,  that  is  to  say,  men  of  the  sword,  born  within  the  pale 
of  nobility,  who  at  home  could  neither  labor  nor  trade  with 
out  derogation  from  their  rank."     Famine,  contention,  and 
homesickness  were  the  consequence.     "  Bat  how  to  escape? 
A  continent  was  their  solitary  prison,  and  the  pitiless  Atlan 
tic  closed  the  egress.     Not  one  of  them  knew  how  to  build  a 
ship  ;  but   Eibault  had  left   them  a  forge,  with   tools    and 
iron  ;  and  strong  desire  supplied  the  place  of  skill.     Trees 
were  hewn  down  and  the  work  begun. 

39.  All,  gentle  and  simple,  labored  with  equal  zeal.     They 
calked  the  seams  with  the  long  moss  which  hung  in  profusion 
from  the  trees  ;   the  pines  supplied  them  with  pitch  ;   the 
Indians  made  for  them  a  kind  of  cordage  ;  and  for  sails  they 
sewed  together  their  shirts  and  bedding.     At  length  a  brigan- 
tine  worthy  of  Eobinson  Crusoe  floated  on  the  waters.     They 
laid  in  what  provisions  they  might,  gave  all  that  remained  to 


98  North  and  SoutJi  Carolina. 


the  delighted  Indians,  embarked,  descended  the  rrvei,  and 
put  to  sea."  l 

40.  "To  suppose  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  efforts  accom 
plished  nothing,  because  he  did  not  actually  plant  an  abiding 
colony  in  North  Carolina,  would  be  unjust  to  him,  as  well  as 

Albemarie  sa^J  ^°  violate  the  truth  of  history.  His  zeal  and 
and  Claren-  enterprise  prompted  others  to  pursue  the  path  in 
which,  with  so  much  loss,  he  had  been  the  bold 
pioneer."  In  1663,  Charles  II.  granted  to  Lord  Clarendon 
and  other  English  noblemen  a  vast  territory  south  of  Vir 
ginia.  In  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarie,  one  of  the  grant 
ees,  a  settlement  previously  made  on  the  Chowan  river,  by 
emigrants  from  Virginia,  who  would  not  obey  the  church  rules 
prescribed  in  Virginia,  was  called  the  Albemarie  County 
Colony.  Another  settlement,  begun  near  Wilmington,  by 
planters  from  Bar-ba'-does,  was  called  the  "  Clarendon  County 
Colony." 

41.  John  Locke,  the  most  eminent  philosopher  of  his  time, 
was  engaged  to  draw  up  a  charter  and  scheme  of  government 

The  for  the  new  province.  It  was  to  be,  the  proprietors 
Grand  Model,  thought,  a  populous  empire.  A  constitution 
was  accordingly  proposed,  which  became  known  as  the 
"  Grand  Model ;"  but  it  was  so  poorly  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  settlers,  that  it  never  went  into  full  effect,  and  was 
finally  abandoned  by  the  proprietors  (1693.) 

42.  In  1670,  a  third  colony  was  planted  in  Carolina.    It  was 
Division    on  ^ie  western  bank  of  the  Ashley  river  ;  but,  ten 

of  the      years  after,  was  removed  to  a  better  location,  at 
province.    ^ie  junc^jon  Of  that  stream  with  the  Cooper  river. 

1  The  sufferings  which  they  endured  on  the  voyage,  because  of  their 
want  of  food,  were  frightful  ;  but  a  remnant  of  their  number  at  length 
reached  France.  "  One  day,  while  at  sea,  they  cast  lots  for  the  life  of 
one  of  their  number,  who  was  sacrificed,  and  his  flesh  divided  equally." 
— Fairbanks'  History  of  Florida. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Parkman  says  that  thirty  persons  were  left  at 
Port  Royal  by  Ribault.  Other  authors  say  twenty-six.  Parkman,  who 
is  excellent  authority,  also  spells  the  name  of  the  Huguenot  Captain 
thus,  Ribaut.  Charles,  in  Latin,  is  Carolus — hence  Carolina. 


1732  Settlement  of  Georgia.  99 

Thus  the  first  settlement  was  made  in  South  Carolina,  and 
the  foundation  of  Charleston  was  laid.  About  fifty  years 
later  Carolina  became  a  royal  province,  the  king,  George  II., 
having  purchased  the  proprietors'  rights.  North  Carolina 
and  South  Carolina  then,  as  royal  provinces,  began  their  sepa 
rate  existence  (1729). 

Georgia. 

43.  "  Each  year,  in  Great  Britain,  at  least  four  thousand 
unhappy  men,"  says  Bancroft,  "  were  put  into  prison  for  the 
misfortune  of  poverty.      The  subject  won  the  attention  of 
James  Oglethorpe,  a  member  of  the  British  parlia-      Motives 
ment ;  and  to  him,   in  the  annals  of  legislative      for  the 
philanthropy,   the   honor   is  due  of   having   first    settlement< 
resolved  to  lighten  the  lot  of  debtors.     Touched  with  the 
sorrows  which  the  walls  of  a  prison  could  not  hide  from  him, 
he  searched  into  the  gloomy  horrors  of  jails  "  ;  and  was  the 
means  of  "  restoring  to  light  arid  freedom  multitudes  who, 
by  long  confinement  for  debt,  were  strangers  and  helpless  in 
the  country  of  their  birth.     He  did  more."     For  them,  as 
well  as  for  others  who  were  poor,  distressed,  or  persecuted, 
"  he  planned  a  new  destiny  in  America,  where  former  poverty 
or  misfortune  would  be  no  reproach." 

44.  To  him  and   to  others,   twenty-one  in  .all,  the  king, 
George  II.,  granted,  fora  term  of  twenty-one  years,  "  in  trust 
for  the   poor,"  as   the   charter  stated,  all    the    country   be 
tween  the  Savannah  and  the  Altamaha  (al-ta-ma-  Settlement 

haiv').     Oglethorpe  embarked  with  more   than  a         of 
,        ,      ,  .,  ...  .  Savannah., 

hundred  emigrants  ;  and,  ascending  a  river,  on  a 

high  bluff  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  town,  which  received 
the  name  of  Savannah.  The  new  province  was  called 
Georgia,  in  honor  of  the  king  (1733).  "  Next  year  the  colony 
was  joined  by  about  a  hundred  German  Protestants.  The 
colonists  received  this  addition  to  their  numbers  with  joy.  A 
place  of  residence  was  chosen  for  them  which  the  devout  and 


100  Georgia. 


thankful  strangers  named  Ebenezer.  The  river  and  the  hills, 
they  said,  reminded  them  of  home.  They  applied  themselves 
with  steady  industry  to  the  cultivation  of  indigo  and  silk,  and 
they  prospered." 

45.  There  came  to  Georgia  "  the  two  brothers,  John  and 
Charles  Wesley.     John,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  Methodists, 
was  even  then,  although  a  very  young  man,  a  preacher  of  un- 

Wesle  usual  promise.  He  burned  to  spread  the  Gospel 
and  among  the  settlers  and  their  Indian  neighbors.  He 
Whitefield.  Spent  two  years  in  Georgia,  but  these  were  unsuc 
cessful  years.  Then  he  returned  to  England  to  begin  his  great 
career,  with  the  feeling  that  his  residence  in  Georgia  had  been 
of  much  value  to  him,  but  of  very  little  to  the  people  whom 
he  sought  to  benefit.  Just  as  he  readied  England,  his  fellow- 
laborer,  George  Whitefield  (hwit'-feekl),  sailed  for  Georgia. 
There  were  now  (1737)  little  settlements  spreading  inland, 
and  Whitefield  visited  these,  bearing  to  them  the  word  of  life. 
He  founded  and  maintained  an  orphan  home  in  Savannah, 
visited  all  the  provinces  from  Florida  to  the  northern  fron 
tier,-  and  made  his  grave  in  New  England."  His  eloquence 
was  wonderful  ;  his  voice  powerful,  rich,  and  sweet.  Said 
Dr.  Franklin  :  "  When  Whitefield  was  preaching  in  the  open 
air,  more  than  thirty  thousand  persons  might  hear  him  dis 
tinctly." 

46.  Emigrants  continued  to  arrive,  including  Swiss  and 
Scotch  ;  but  while  the  colony  thus  increased  in  numbers,  the 
bright  anticipations  of  plenty  and  comfort  which  had  been 

Further    indulged  in,  were  not,  for  a  long  time,  realized. 

history.  This  was  owing  in  large  part  to  the  poverty  and 
idle  habits  of  the  English  settlers.  Besides,  the  regulations 
of  the  trustees  were  not  suited  to  the  condition  and  needs  of 
the  people.  Trouble,  too,  came  from  their  neighbors  on  the 
South.  The  Spaniards,  in  Florida,  looking  upon  the  Savan 
nah  settlement  as  an  encroachment  upon  their  territory,  hos 
tilities  ensued  between  the  rival  colonies  ;  but  Oglethorpo, 
who  was  a  good  general  and  a  brave  soldier,  made  a  successful 


European  Wars.  101 

defense.  The  trustees  governed  till  1752,  when  wearied  with 
their  charge,  they  gave  up  their  charter,  and  Georgia  became 
a  royal  province.  Eleven  years  later  all  the  lands  between 
the  Altamaha  and  St.  Mary's  were  annexed  to  Georgia  by  a 
royal  proclamation'.  The  western  limit  was  the  Pacific  ocean. 


European  Wars  that  affected  the  Colonies. 

1.  During  the  colonial  period,  there  were  three  wars  in 
which  England  was  engaged  on  the  one  side  and  France  on 
the  other,  that  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  colonists  and  enlist 
ed  their  aid  in  behalf  of  the  "  mother  country,"  as  England 
was  affectionately  called.      In  the  first   of    these,  known  as 
King  William' 's  War,  an  expedition,  fitted  out  by  Massachu 
setts  and  commanded  by  Sir  William  Phipps,  captured  Port 
Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  returned  to  Boston  with  a  large 
amount  of  plunder  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  place  was 
given  back  to  the  French  (1689-1697).    In  the  second  contest, 
known  as    Queen  Anne's   War,   Port  Royal  was  again  cap 
tured,  when  its  name  was  changed  to  Annapolis,  in  honor  of^ 
the  queen,    and  Acadia  was  annexed  to   the  British  realm 
(1702-1713). 

2.  In  the  last  contest,  known  as  King  George's  War,  the 
fortress  of  Louisburg,  the  "  Gibraltar  of  America/'  was  cap 
tured  after  a  long  siege,  by  New  England  troops  and  an  Eng- 
u*dli  fleet ;  but  the  treaty  of  peace  at  the  close  of  the  war 
restored  Louisburg  to  the  French  (1744-1748).     In  all  these 
struggles,  the  French  were  aided  by  their  Indian  allies  in 
Canada.     The  English  had  at  times  the  assistance  of  the  war 
like  Iroquois  (e'-ro-quah)  or  Five  Nations.     New  York,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts,   were  the   greater  sufferers, 
they  being  nearer  to  Canada.     Bodies  of  French  and  Indians 
made  incursions  from  Canada,  fell  upon  the  defenseless  vil 
lages,  and  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity  the  helpless  in 
habitants,     Of  the  Troquois  Parkman  says  : 


102  The  French  and  Indian  War.  1753 

3.  "  Foremost  in  war,  foremost  in  eloquence,  foremost  in 
their  savage  arts  of  policy,  stood  the  fierce  people  called  by  the 
French  the  Iroquois.     They  occupied  Central  New  York,  but 

extended  their  conquests  and  their  depredations 
St  from  Quebec  to  the  Carolinas,  and  from  the  west 
ern  prairies  to  the  forests  of  Maine.  They  consisted  of  five 
tribes  or  nations — the  Mohawks,  the  Oneidas,  the  Onondagas, 
the  Cayugas,  and  the  Senecas  (to  which  a  sixth,  the  Tusca- 
roras,  was  added  in  1715). 

4.  Both  reason  and  tradition  point  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Iroquois  formed,  originally  one  undivided  people.     Sun 
dered,  like  countless  other  cribes,  by  dissensions,  caprice,  or 
the  necessities  of  the  hunter-life,  they  separated  into  five  dis 
tinct   nations.     At  length,  says  tradition,  a  celestial  being, 
incarnate  on  earth,  counseled  them  to  compose  their  strife 
and  unite  in  a  league  of  defense  and  aggression.     Another 
personage — wholly  mortal,  yet  wonderfully  endowed — a  re 
nowned  warrior  and  a  mighty  magician,  stands,  with  his  hair 
of  writhing  snakes,  grotesquely  conspicuous  through  the  dim 
light  of  tradition,  at  this  birth  of  Iroquois  nationality.     This 
was  At-o-tar-ho,   a  chief  of  the  Onondagas  ;  and  from  this 
honored  source  has  sprung  a  long  line  of  chieftains,  heirs  not 
to  the  blood  alone,  but  to  the  name  of  their  great  predeces 
sor." 

The  French  and  Indian  War. 

5.  The  three  wars  just   alluded   to  had   their   origin   in 
European  affairs.     In  1753,  however,  a  difficulty  sprung  up 
between  the   French    and    English    colonists   in   America, 

The  respecting  the  boundaries  beween  their  respective 
French  claim,  territories.  The  French  entertained  the  project  of 
possessing  the  whole  of  the  vast  region  of  the  west,  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  to  which  La  Salle  had  given  the  name  of 
Louisiana.  "  Not  a  fountain  bubbled  on  the  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  but  was  claimed  as  being  within  the  French 


1753  Washington's  Mission.  103 

empire.  Every  brook  that  flowed  to  the  Ohio  was  French 
water."  To  secure  this  region  to  the  French,  forts  had  been 
built  at  suitable  places.  Along  the  line  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
at  the  great  lakes,  and  by  the  Mississippi,  more  than  sixty 
military  posts  were  established,  beside  missionary  agencies. 
The  total  population  of  this  valley,  excluding  Indians,  may 
have  been  at  the  time  we  speak  of,  seven  or  eight  thousand 
persons,  of  whom  half  at  least  were  negroes. 

6.  The  English  claim  to  the  territory  was  based  on  the  dis 
coveries  of  their  navigators,  the  Cabots.     This,  if  valid,  gave 
them  a  prior  right  to  the  country.     The  French,  however, 
deemed  this  an  absurd  claim  ;  since  the  Cabots        T, 
knew  nothing  of  those  vast  inland  regions  which     English 
French  missionaries  and  explorers  had,  with  in 
credible  difficulty,  perseverance,  and   hardships,  discovered 
and  settled.     For  years  these  rival  claims  were  urged  ;  but 
the  crisis  did  not  arrive  till  1753. 

7.  At  this  time  there  was  in  existence   a  company,  mostly 
Virginians,  that  had  obtained  a  grant  of  land  on  and  near  the 
Ohio  river,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  Indians  and 
of  settling  the  country.     This  was  called  the  Ohio         j^e 
Company.     The  French,  in  large  force,  began  to  ohio  Company, 
occupy  the  Ohio  valley,   and,   for   the   protection   of   their 
movements,    to   establish    posts   at   Erie   and   other   places. 
They  also  seized  three  British  traders  (1753). 

8.  Complaint  was  made  to  Eobert  Dinwiddie,  lieutenant- 
governor  of  Virginia  and  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Company,  of 
these  acts  ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  send  "  a  person  of  distinc 
tion  to  the  commander  of  the  French  forces,  to    washing- 
know  his  reasons  for  invading  the  British  domin-  ton's  mission, 
ions."      The  envoy  chosen    was    George  Washington,   then 
about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  but  already  noted  for  his  pru 
dence  and  energy.     He  was  a  surveyor  by  profession,  and,  in 
the  exercise  of  his  calling,  had  become  familiar  with  the  wil 
derness.     In  the  militia  service,  he  had  reached  the  rank  of 
major,     The  task  imposed  upon  Washington  was  a  very  difFi- 


104  The  French  and  Indian  War.  1754 

cult  one.  When  he  set  out  it  was  in  the  middle  of  winter  ; 
and  he  had  to  travel  several  hundred  miles  through  an  almost 
pathless  wilderness,  infested  by  bands  of  lurking  savages, 
cruel  and  treacherous.  Still,  the  task  was  accomplished. 
"  I  am  here,'7  said  the  French  commander  at  Erie,  "  by  the 
orders  of  my  general,"  the  Marquis  Du  Quesne  (kane\  the 
governor  of  Canada  ;  and  to  Du  Quesne  the  English  were  re 
ferred  for  satisfaction. 

9.  On  his  return,  Washington    found  the  Alleghany  full 
of  drifting  ice.     "  He  encamped  on  its  border,  and  at  day 
break  was  up  to  devise  some  means  of  reaching  the  opposite 

bank.  No  other  mode  presented  itself  than  by  a 
raft,  and  to  construct  this,  they  (he  and  one  com 
panion  named  Gist)  had  but  one  poor  hatchet.  With  this 
they  set  resolutely  at  work,  and  labored  all  day,  but  the  sun 
went  down  before  their  raft  was  finished.  They  launched  it, 
however,  and  getting  on  board,  endeavored  to  propel  it  across 
with  poles.  Before  they  were  half  way  over,  the  raft  became 
jammed  between  cakes  of  ice,  and  they  were  in  imminent 
peril. 

10.  Washington  planted  his  pole  on  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  and  leaned  against  it  with  all  his  might  to  stay  the 
raft  until  the  ice  should  pass  by.     The  rapid  current  forced 
the  ice  against  the  pole  with  such  violence  that  he  was  jerked 
into  the  water,  where  it  was  at  least  ten  feet  deep.     He  only 
saved  himself  from  being  swept  away  and  drowned,  by  catch 
ing  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs.     It  was  now  impossible,  with 
all  their  exertions,  to  get  to  either  shore.     Abandoning  the 
raft,  therefore,  they  got   upon  an  island,   near  which  they 
were  drifting.     Here  they  passed  the  night,  exposed  to  in 
tense  cold,  by  which  the  hands  and  feet  of  Mr.  Gist  were 
frozen.     In  the  morning  they  found  the  drift  ice  wedged  so 
closely  together,  that  they  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  opposite 
side   of  the  river  ;  and  before  night  they  were  in  comfortable 
quarters."     After  an  absence  of  eleven  weeks,  Washington 
delivered  the  French  commander's  reply  to  Dinwidciie, 


1755  Expulsion  of  the  Acadians.  105 

x 

11.  Active  operations  were  at  once  resolved  upon.     A  fort, 
at  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  rivers,  was 
begun  ;  and,  Washington  at  the  head  of  a  small  body  of  men, 
was  sent  to  finish  and  protect  it.     Before,  how-  Washington's 
.ever,  he  could  reach  the   place   the  French  ap-    expedition, 
peared,  took  possession  of  the  works,  completed  them,  and 
named  the  fort  Duquesne.     Hearing  of  this  event  and  that  a 
force  was  marching  to  intercept  him,  Washington  fell  back  to 
the  "Great  Meadows."     Here  he  attacked  and  defeated  the 
invaders  (May,  1754)  ;  but  another  force  of  fifteen  hundred 
French  and  Indians  coming  against  him,  he,  in  turn,  was 
defeated  and  compelled  to  return  to  Virginia  (July  4,  1754). 

12.  Several  expeditions  against  the  French  were  planned 
for  the  next  year.     "  At  the  peace  of  1748,  Acadia  had  been 
ceded  to  England  ;  but  the  French  still  claimed  a  large  por 
tion  of  it,  and  built  forts  for  its  defense.     In  1755    ,,      ,  . 

JtiXpulsion 

these  forts  were  taken  and  the  whole  of  Acadia      of  the 
was  conquered  by  three  thousand  men  from  Mas-    Acadians> 
sachusetts,  under  the  command  of  General  Winslow.     The 
inhabitants,  a  peaceful  race  taking  no  delight  in  warfare, 
were  accused  of  supplying  the  French  with  provisions,  and  of 
doing  other  things  that  violated   their   neutrality.      These 
accusations    were   probably    true,    for    the   Acadians    were 
descended  from  the  French,  and  had  the  same  friendly  feel 
ings  towards  them  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  had  for 
the  English  ;  but  their  punishment  was  severe. 

13.  The.  English  determined  to   tear  these  poor  people, 
more  than  seven  thousand  persons  in  all,  from  their  native 
homes,   and  scatter  them,  abroad.      A  considerable  part  of 
them  were  made  prisoners,  and  transported  to  the  English 
colonies.      All  their   dwellings  and  churches  were   burned, 
their  cattle  were  killed,  and  the  whole  country  was  laid  waste, 
so  that  none  of  them  might  find  shelter  or  food  in  their  old 
homes,  after  the  departure  of  the  English.     One  thousand  of 
the  Acadians  were  sent  to  Massachusetts. 

14.  A  sad  day  it  was  for  them  when  the  armed  soldiers 


106  The  French  and  Indian  War.  1755 

drove  them  from  their  homes,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
down  to  the  sea  shore.  Very  sad  were  they,  likewise,  while 
tossing  upon  the  ocean  in  the  crowded  transport  ships.  But 
it  must  have  been  sadder  still  when  they  were  landed  on  the 
Long  Wharf,  in  Boston,  and  left  to  themselves  on  a  foreign- 
strand.  Then,  probably,  they  huddled  together  and  looked 
into  one  another's  faces  for  the  comfort  which  was  not  there. 
Hitherto  they  had  been  confined  on  board  of  separate  vessels, 
so  that  they  could  not  tell  whether  their  relatives  and  friends 
were  prisoners  along  with  them. 

15.  Now  a  desolate  wife  might  be  heard  calling  for  her 
husband.     He,   alas,  had  gone,  she  knew  not  whither  ;  or, 
perhaps,  had  fled  into  the  woods  of  Acadia,  and  had  now 
returned  to  weep  over  the  ashes  of  their  dwelling.     0,  how 
many  broken  bonds  of  affection  were  here  !     Country  lost — 
friends  lost — their  rural  wealth  of  cottage,  field,  and  herds  all 
lost  together  !     Every  tie  between  these  poor  exiles  and  the 
world  seemed  to  be  cut  off  at  once.     They  must  have  regret 
ted  that  they  had  not  died  before  their  exile  ;  for  even  the 
English  would  not  have  been  so  pitiless  as  to  deny  them 
graves  in  their  native  soil.     The 

dead  were  happy  ;  for  they  were 
not  exiles  !" 

16.  During  the  same  year  an 
expedition    went    against    Fort 
Duquesne.     It  was  conducted  by 
General  Braddock,  an  officer  of 

Brad-       skill  and  experience, 
dock's  defeat.  w]10   hacl   been    sent 
from  England  with  several  regi 
ments  of  soldiers,  to  take  com 
mand  of  all  the  forces  in  the  colo 
nies.      Confident  of  success,  he  GENEBAL  BRADDOCK- 
marched  through  the  wilderness,  heedless  of  danger  from  the 
savages  ;  and  treated  with  contempt  the  suggestion  of  Wash- 
rigton,   who  served    as  his  aid,   that  he  should   scour  the 


1755      The  War  to  be  carried  on  witJi  vigor.        107 

woods  so  as  to  protect  his  army  from  a  surprise  by  the  In 
dians. 

17.  Thus  he  rashly  pushed  on  till  about  ten  miles  from  the 
fort,  when  the  soldiers'  ears  were  suddenly  assailed  by  the  sav 
age  war-whoop,  and  a  deadly  fire  was  poured  into  their  ranks 
from  an  unseen  enemy.  Panic  and  disorder  ensued.  The 
soldiers  were  shot  down  like  deer,  and  the  general  was  mor 
tally  wounded.  Washington,  throughout  this  disastrous  day, 
distinguished  himself  by  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind. 
His  escape  from  injury  was  wonderful,  for  he  had  two  horses 
shot  under  him,  and  four  bullets  passed  through  his  coat 
(July  9,  1755).1 

:r'18.  So  little  had  been  accomplished  up  to  this  time  against 
the  French,  that  the  English  people  demanded  a  change  in 
the  administration  of  their  government,  and  the  celebrated 
William  Pitt  was  placed  at  the  head  of  affairs. 
Preparations  were  immediately  made  for  carrying    war  to  be 


on  the  war  with  vigor,  and  fifty  thousand  men 

were  enlisted  for  the  service.     The  French,  at  this 

time,  held  forts  by  which  their  trade  and  possessions  were 

protected  in  every  direction. 

19.  Fort  Duquesne  guarded  the  territory  on  the  west  ; 
Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  on  Lake  Champlain,  closed 
the  route  to  Canada  ;  Niagara  protected  the  fur  trade  of  the 
great  lakes  and  the  region  beyond  ;  Louisburg  menaced  New 
England  and  guarded  the  fisheries  ;  and  Quebec,  with  its 
strong  fortifications,  was  the  key  to  the  possessions  of  Can 
ada.  A  vigorous  effort  was  now  to  be  made  to  capture  all 
these  strong  posts,  and  thus  to  destroy  the  French  power  in 
America. 

1  General  Johnson  started  against  Crown  Point,  but  did  not  get 
further  than  the  head  of  Lake  George.  Dieskau  (de-es-ko'),  the  French 
commander,  marching  against  him,  met  and  defeated  a  detachment  under 
Williams,  but  was  repulsed  by  Johnson  ;  who,  after  erecting  Fort  William 
Henry,  retired  to  Albany.  In  1757,  Montcalm  took  Fort  William  Henry 
after  a  siege  of  six  days.  His  Indian  allies,  incited  by  the  hope  of 
plunder,  massacred  the  garrison  while  they  were  on  their  retreat  to  Fort 
Edward. 


108  The  French  and  Indian  War.  1759 


20.  The  expedition  against  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga 
was  intrusted  to  General  Abercromby.     With  an  army  of  six 
teen  thousand  men,  "  the  largest  body  of  European  origin 

Successes    ^na^  na^  ever  been  assembled  in  America,"  Aber- 

and        cromby  left  the  head  of  Lake  George  in  the  early 

failures.     part  of  Ju]y  (1758^     Tne  Yast  notJHa,  consisting 

of  nine  hundred  small  boats  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
whale-boats,  with  artillery  on  rafts,  proceeded  slowly  down 
the  lake.  Banners  fluttered  in  the  breeze,  arms  glittered  in 
the  sunshine,  and  martial  music  echoed  along  the  wood-clad 
mountains.  Landing  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake,  the 
army  commenced  a  march  through  the  dense  forests  towards 
Ticonderoga,  which  was  then  commanded  by  Montcalm.  The 
advance,  under  Lord  Howe,  was  suddenly  met  by  the  French, 
and  repulsed,  the  young  and  lamented  leader  being  killed. 

21.  "  With  Lord  Howe  expired  the  master-spirit  of  the  en 
terprise."     The  troops  fell  back  to  the  landing  place  ;  but 
resuming  their 'march,  advanced  against  the  fort  and  made  an 
assault.     The  attempt  failed,  with   the   loss   of  nearly  two 
thousand  men  ;  "  Abercromby  hurried  the  army  back  to  the 
boats,  and  did  not  rest  till  he  had  placed  the  lake  between 
himself  and  Montcalm."    The  expeditions  against  Louisburg 
and  Duquesne  were  successful.     Louisburg  was  taken  after  a 
desperate  resistance.     Duquesne  made  no   defense.     It  was 
abandoned  on  the  approach  of  the  English,  and  its  name 
changed  to  Fort  Pitt. 

22.  The  great  object  of  the  campaign  of  1759  was  the 
reduction  of  Canada.     Niagara  was  taken,  and  the  French 
were  driven  from  the  posts  on  Lake  Champlain.     With  eight 

Capture  thousand  men,  General  Wolfe  ascended  the  St. 
of  Quebec.  Lawrence  river  to  proceed  against  Quebec.  He 
landed  his  army  upon  an  island  below  the  city  ;  and  made  a 
daring  assault  upon  the  French  intrenchments  ;  but  it  result 
ed  in  defeat  and  serious  loss.  "  Wolfe  was  greatly  dispirited 
by  this  repulse.  The  emotions  of  his  mind,  co-operating  with 
great  fatigue  of  body,  brought  on  a  fever,  which  nearly  proved 


1759  Capture  of  Quebec.  109 

fatal ;  and  it  ^was  almost  a  month  before  lie  was  able  to 
resume  his  command  in  person. 

23.  While  stretched  upon  his  bed  in  his  tent,  he  arranged 
a  plan  for  scaling  the  almost  in 
accessible  Heights  of  Abraham, 

and   gaining  possession  of  that 

elevated  plateau  in  the  rear  of 

Quebec.      The    camp    was    now 

broken  up,  and  all  the  troops  and 

artillery,  except  a  garrison  left 

on  the  island,  were  taken  by  a 

part  of  the  fleet  far  up  the  river, 

while  the  remainder  lingered  and 

made  feigned  preparations,  for  a 

second  attack  upon  Montcalm's 

intrenchments.     It  was  the  12th  GENERAL  WOLFE. 

of  September,  and   the  brief  Canadian    summer  was  over. 

After  midnight  the  army  left  the  vessels  ;  and  in  flat-boats, 

without  oars  or  sails,  they  glided  down  noiselessly  with  the 

tide,  followed  by  the  ships  soon  afterward. 

24.  At  his  evening  mess  on  the  ship,'  Wolfe  composed  and 
sang  impromptu  that  little  song  of  the  camp,  commencing — 

'  Why,  soldiers,  why, 

Should  we  be  melancholy,  boys  ? 
"Why,  soldiers,  why — 

Whose  business  'tis  to  die.' 

And  as  he  sat  among  his  officers,  and  floated  softly  down  the 
river  at  the  past-midnight  hour,  a  shadow  seemed  to  come 
upon  his  heart,  and  he  repeated,  in  low,  musing  tones,  that 
touching  stanza  of  Gray's  '  Elegy  in  a  Country  Church 
yard  ' — 

'  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour  : 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave  !  ' 

At  the  close  he  whispered  :  '  Now,  gentlemen,  I  would  prefer 


110  The  French  and  Indian  War.  1759 

being  the  author  of  that  poem  to  the  glory  of  beating  the 
French  to-morrow. ' 

25.  The  flotilla  reached  a  cove  which  Wolfe  had  marked 
for  a  landing  place,   and  which  still  bears  his  name,  before 
daybreak.     At  the  head  of  the  main  division,  Wolfe  pushed 
eagerly  up  a  narrow  and  rough  ravine,  while  the  light  infan 
try  and  Highlanders  climbed  the  steep  acclivity  by  the  aid  of 
the   maple,    spruce,    and   ash   saplings,   and    shrubs,   which 
covered  its  rugged  face.     The  sergeant's  guard  on  its  brow 
was  soon  dispersed,  and  at  dawn,   on  the  13th,  almost  five 
thousand  British  troops  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  three  hundred  feet  above  the  St.  Law 
rence. 

26.  Montcalm   could   hardly   believe  the    messenger  who 
brought  him  intelligence  of  this  marshalling  of  the  English 
upon  the  weak  side  of  the  city.     '  It  can  be  but  a  small  party 
come  to  burn  a  few  houses,  and  return,'  he  said  ;  but  he  was 
soon  undeceived.    Then  he  saw  the  imminent  danger  to  which 
the  town  and  garrison  were  exposed,  and  he  immediately  aban 
doned  his  intrenchments,  and  led  a  large  portion  of  his  army 
to  attack  the  invaders.     Wolfe  placed  himself  on  the  right  : 
Montcalm  was  on  the  left.     So  the  two  commanders  stood 
face  to  face.     Wolfe  ordered  his  men  to  load  with  two  bullets 
each,  and  to  reserve  their  fire  until  the  French  should  be 
within  forty  yards. 

27.  These    orders    were    strictly  obeyed,  and  the  double- 
shotted  guns  did  terrible  execution.     After  delivering  several 
rounds  in   rapid   succession,  which  threw  the  French  into 
confusion,   the  English  charged  upon  them  furiously  with 
their    bayonets.     While   urging    on   his    battalions   in   this 
charge,    Wolfe    was   slightly   wounded    in    the    wrist.     He 
stanched  the  blood  with  a  handkerchief,  and,  while  cheering 
on  his  men,  received  a  second  wound.     A  few  minutes  after 
ward,  another  bullet  struck  him  on  the  breast,  and  brought 
him   to   the   ground  mortally  wounded.     At  that  moment, 
regardless  of  self,  he  thought  only  of  victory  for  his  troops. 


1763  Closing  Events  of  tlie  War.  Ill 


1  Support  me,'  he  said  to  an  officer  near  him  ;  '  let  not  my 
brave  soldiers  see  me  drop.  The  day  is  ours — keep  it  ! '  He 
was  taken  to  the  rear  while  his  troops  continued  to  charge. 

28%  The  officer  on  whose  shoulder  he  was  leaning,  ex 
claimed,  i  They  run  !  they  run  !  The  waning  light  returned 
to  the  dim  eyes  of  the  hero,  and  he  asked,  i  Who  run  ?  ' — '  The 
enemy,  sir  ;  they  give  way  everywhere.' — '  What,'  feebly  ex 
claimed  A¥olfe,  '  do  they  run  already  ?  Now  God  be  praised, 
I  die  happy  ! '  These  were  his  last  words,  and,  in  the  midst  of 
sorrowing  companions,  just  at  the  moment  of  victory,  he 
expired.  Montcalm,  who  was  righting  gallantly  at  the  head 
of  the  French,  also  received  a  mortal  wound.  *  Death  is  cer 
tain,'  said  his  surgeon.  '  I  am  glad  of  it,'  replied  Mont- 
calm  :  '  how  long  shall  I  live  ?  '  *  Ten  or  twelve  hours,  per 
haps  less.'  '  So  much  the  better  :  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the 
surrender  of  Quebec,'  Five  days  afterward  the  city  capitu 
lated." 

29.  This  victory  really  decided  the  war,  though  the 
French,  the  next  year,  made  an  attempt  to  recover  Quebec. 
Montreal  was  also  surrendered,  and  thus  the  whole  of  Canada 
became  the  property  of  the  English  (1760).  In  Closin 
1763  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Paris,  by  the  events  of 
terms  of  which,  France  gave  up  to  Great  Britain  the  war§ 
all  her  American  possessions  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north 
of  the  I'-ber-ville  river,  in  Louisiana.1  This  gave  great 
dissatisfaction  to  the  Indians  of  the  northwest,  for  they  dis 
liked  the  English.  Soon  a  combination,  known  as  the 
•"  Pontiac  Conspiracy,"  was  formed  by  the  various  tribes,  and 
all  the  posts  were  captured,  except  Niagara,  Fort  Pitt,  and 
Detroit.  Hundreds  of  families  were  butchered  or  driven  from 
their  homes.  Detroit  was  besieged  six  months,  but  the  Indi 
ans  were  finally  compelled  to  sue  for  peace  (1763).  Pontiac, 
their  great  leader,  wandered  to  the  Mississippi,  and  there,  in 


1  The  Iberville  is  an  outlet  of  the  Mississippi,  fourteen  miles  south  of 
Baton  Rouge,  connecting  the  Mississippi  on  the  east  with  Lake  Maurepas. 


Condition  of  the  Colonies. 


a  forest,  an  Indian  who  had  been  bribed  with  a  barrel  of 
liquor,  stole  close  upon  his  track  and  buried  a  tomahawk  in 
his  brain  (1769). 

Condition  of  the  Colonies. 

1.  At  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  thirteen 
colonies  that  afterward  became  the  United  States,  contained 
a  population  of  more  than  two  millions  of  persons,  one  fourth 

of  whom  at  least  were  negro  slaves.  This  esti 
mate  does  not  include  the  Indians.  The  whites 
were  descendants,  in  large  part,  of  persons  who  had  come 
from  the  old  world  to  secure  for  themselves  freedom  to  wor 
ship  God  as  they  desired.  In  general,  they  were  intelligent 
and  industrious,  and  of  good  moral  and  religious  culture.1 
The  number  of  slaves  imported  into  the  colonies  direct  from 
Africa  up  to  this  time,  was  probably  not  far  from  three  hun 
dred  thousand.  Slavery  existed  in  all  the  colonies,  though, 
Georgia  at  first,  had  laws  against  the  holding  of  slaves,  and 
the  Quakers  were  always  opposed  to  slavery.  "  Slavery  is 
opposed  to  the  gospel,"  said  Oglethorpe,  and  yet,  within  seven 
years  after  his  settlement  was  begun,  slave-ships  were  dis 
charging  their  cargoes  at  Savannah. 

2.  The  number  of  slaves  in  New  England  was  small,  but 
Governor  Stuyvesant  so  encouraged  their  importation  into  his 
province,  that,  at  one  time,  there  were  more  slaves  in  New 
York,  in  proportion  to  the  white  population,  than  in  Vir 
ginia.     Afterward  the  slaves  in  Virginia  were  the  majority 
of  her  inhabitants.     Philadelphia,  with  a  population  not  much 
exceeding  thirty  thousand,   was  the   first   city  in   size  and 
wealth.     New  York  came  next,  though  that  city  never  was, 
even  under  English  rule  and  up  to  the  close  of  colonial  times, 

1  The  Huguenots  came  in  great  numbers,  and  settled  in  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina.  Large  settlements  were 
.•  Iso  made  by  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  in  New  Hampshire,  Western 
Pennsylvania,  and  North  Carolina. 


Industry,  Mechanical  and  Agricultural. 


"  much  more  than  a  prosperous  and  drowsy  Dutch  Tillage." 
Boston,  Charleston,  and  Baltimore  followed. 

3.  There  were  three  forms  of  government  in  force  among 
the  colonies.     These  were  the  provincial,  or  royal  ;  the  pro 
prietary  ;    and    the  charter.      New  Hampshire,  New  York, 

•New  Jersey,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia 

-,       ,-,      /r  -r-,     i     i     T  Government, 

were  under  the  first  form.     Each  had  a  governor 

who  had  received  his  appointment  from  the  king,  and  who 
ruled  according  to  instructions  from  his  royal  master.  Penn 
sylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  were  of  the  second  form. 
They  were  governed  by  owners  or  proprietors.  Massachu 
setts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut  were  under  charter 
governments.  Their  charters,  which  had  heen  conferred  by 
the  crown,  gave  to  the  people  certain  civil  rights,  which,  it 
was  believed,  could  not  be  taken  from  them. 

4.  When  it  is  recollected  that  England,  by  her  "  Naviga 
tion  Acts"  and  other  oppressive  laws  would  not  allow  other 
nations  to  trade  with  her  colonies,  and  would  not  permit  the 
colonists  to  manufacture  any  article,  not  even  a 

nail  or  a  pin,  a  wheel  or  a  plow,   we  can  under-  mechanical 

stand  how  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  came  to  be   and.,  &Sri~ 

cultural, 
the  chief  pursuit  of  the  people.     The  northern 

colonies  were  famous  for  wheat  and  corn.  "  The  cultivation 
of  tobacco  in  Virginia  and  Maryland  was  an  epoch  in  the  his 
tory  of  man  :  all  other  products  of  the  soil  there  were  neg 
lected  for  it."  Ships  from  England  every  year  ascended  the 
Potomac  or  the  James,  to  gather  at  the  wharves  of  the  large 
planters  the  great  crops  of  tobacco.  Every  year,  for  a  long 
time,  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  tobacco  exported,  reached 
nearly  $4,000,000.  This  amount  was  at  least  one  third  of  the 
total  sum  received  from  the  sale  of  all  the  productions  ex 
ported  from  the  colonies.  And  what  did  we  .get  in  return  ? 
Hinges,  pins,  locks,  plows,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  things 
which  the  English  laws  would  not  permit  us  to  make. 

5.  At  a  very  early  period  seed-rice  was  brought  into  the 
Qarolinas  from  the  island  of  Madagascar?  and  soon  became  an 


114 


Condition  of  the  Colonies. 


LINEN  SPINNING-WHEEL. 


article  of  general  cultivation  and  a  staple  export.  The  rice 
of  Carolina  was  esteemed  the  best  in  the  world.  Indigo  was 
also  raised  in  large  quantities.  The 
production  of  silk  was  quite  active  in 
Georgia.  Cotton  had  been  grown  for 
many  years  in  the  south,  but  the 
quantity  produced  was  not  yet  equal 
to  the  demand  for  home  use.  The 
largest  branch  of  manufacturing  in 
dustry  in  which  the  New  England 
colonists  were  employed,  was  the  mak 
ing  of  lumber.  The  building  of  ships, 
for  the  coasting  and  river  trade  and 
for  sale,  was  extensively  carried  on  in  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  Maine,  and  New  York.  More  than  a  hundred 
ships  were  sold  every  year  to  English  merchants. 

6.  All  the  labor  throughcut  the  south,  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  colonial  period,  whether  in  the  shops  or  the  fields, 
was  done  by  slaves.  "  Tobacco, 
which  was  the  source  of  the  wealth 
of  Virginia,  was  altogether  pro 
duced  by  slaves.  The  progress  of 
the  physical  sciences  in  Europe, 
and  many  admirable  inventions  of 
industrial  art,  created  in  the  course 
of  time  a  demand  for  another 
product,  cotton,  which  experience 
proved  could  be  more  advantageous 
ly  produced  in  the  Southern  States 
than  anywhere  else,  but  produced 
in  them  only  by  slaves.  Thence,  very  soon,  the  whole  econ 
omy  of  the  south  centered  on  slavery.  At  the  north,  it  was 
different.  There  the  slaves  being  few,  the  cobbler  used  his 
brain  as  well  as  his  lapstone  ;  the  blacksmith  was  an  artisan, 
a  leader  in  the  church  choir,  and  a  chief  speaker  in  town 
meetings.  The  carpenter  was  a  craftsman  ;  with  poor  tools, 


WOOLLEN  SPINNING-WHEEL. 


Printing. 


115 


Fisheries. 


unaided  by  machinery,  he  was  compelled  to  hew  out  his 
dwelling-place,  and  he  built  it  firmly  and  well.  The  house 
and  the  man  were  built  up  together,  and  each  was  strong  and 
true.  The  housewife  spun  and  wove  the  very  cloth  in  which 
the  family  was  clad."  1  (See  Invention  of  cotton-gin,  p.  187.) 

7.  Several  of  the  coast  towns  of  New  England  had  been 
engaged  for  many  years  in  the  whale  fishery.     The  business 
was  for  a  long  period  a  source  of  great  profit,  and  it  proved 
to  be  a  school  for  the  training  of  men  whereby 

they  became  accomplished  seamen.  The  cod  and 
other  fisheries  employed  very  many  persons.  "  About  1670, 
the  profits  of  the  mackerel,  bass,  and  herring  fisheries  at  Cape 
Cod,  were  granted  to  found  a  free  public  school,  which  was 
opened  in  1671. " 

8.  "  Our  ancestors  were    plainly    resolved    that  the  new 
world  should  be  a  land  of  printers."     Only  eighteen  years 

after  the  landing  of  the  Pil 
grims  a  printing.press  was 
set  up  at  Cam 
bridge  ;  and  four 
years  after  the  arrival  of 
Penn,  one  was  at  work  in 
Philadelphia.  In  1704,  the 
publication  of  a  newspaper 
was  commenced  in  Boston. 
It  was  then  the  only  news- 
pi- per  printed  in  all  Amer 
ica,  and  for  fifteen  years  it 
had  no  competitors.  A  lit 
tle  more  than  twenty  years 
after  its  first  publication 
William  Bradford  published 
a  paper  in  New  York.  Benjamin  Franklin,  as  an  apprentice, 
aided  his  brother  to  print  one  in  Boston.  The  newspapers 


Printing. 


FRANKLIN'S  BIRTHPLACE,  BOSTON. 


JJdward  Atkinson,  m  "  TUe  First  Century  of  the  Republic," 


116  Condition  of  tlie  Colonies. 

soon  increased  in  number,  and,  in  the  course  of  time,  became 
as  necessary  to  the  people  as  their  daily  food.  The  first  maga 
zine  was  published  by  Franklin  at  Philadelphia  in  1741.  To 
Franklin,  when  in  England  twenty  years  later,  Hume,  the 
historian,  wrote  :  "  America  has  sent  us  many  good  things, — 
gold,  silver,  sugar,  tobacco,  indigo,  and  so  forth,  but  you  are 
the  first  philosopher,  and  indeed  the  first  great  man  of  letters, 
for  whom  we  are  beholden  to  her." 

9.  The  early  settlers  of  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  other  colonies  saw  that  the  good  reputation  and 
happiness  of  the  whole  country  could  only  be  promoted  and 

Education  maintained  by  the  proper  education  of  their  chil- 
and  schools,  dren,  and  their  children's  children  for  all  time. 
The  school-house,  like  the  church,  was  soon  found  in  every 
New  England  town.  Common  schools  were  established  by 
law.  Hawthorne  gives  a  description  of  a  school,  one  famous 
in  Boston  for  many  years,  in  which  he  presents  us  with  the 
following  picture  :  "  It  is  a  large,  dingy  room,  with  a  sanded 
floor,  and  is  lighted  by  windows  that  turn  on  hinges,  and 
have  little  diamond-shaped  panes  of  glass.  The  scholars  sit 
on  long  benches,  with  desks  before  them.  At  one  end  of  the 
room  is  a  great  fireplace,  so  very  spacious  that  there  is  room 
enough  for  three  or  four  boys  to  stand  in  each  of  the  chimney 
corners.  This  was  the  good  old  fashion  of  fireplaces  when 
there  was  wood  enough  in  the  forests  to  keep  people  warm 
without  their  digging  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for  coal." 

10.  New  York  had  a  school  -at  an  early  day  when  the 
Dutch  were  in  possession  of  the  country,  over  which  a  school 
master  from  Holland  presided  ;  and  a  school  was  established 
in  Pennsylvania  the  very  next  year  after  the  arrival  of  Penn. 
The  oldest  college  is  at  Cambridge.     In  1636,  "  the  Massa 
chusetts  court  agreed  to  give  £400  towards  a  school  or  college, 
but  the  project  lay  in  abeyance  until  1638,  when,  by  the  will 
of  the  Eev.  John  Harvard,  about  £700  were  secured,  and  the 
first  class  was  formed."      In  1700  ten  clergymen  came  to 
gether,  and  each  one  laying  some  books  on  a  table,  said  :  "  I 


Manners  and  Customs.  117 

give  these  books  for  the  founding  of  a  college  in  this  colony. 
This  was  afterward  called  Yale  College,  in  honor  of  Elihu  Yale, 
of  England,  who  gave  it  a  large  sum  of  money.  In  Virginia, 
the  College  of  William  and  Mary  had  been  founded  with 
great  liberality  by  the  two  sovereigns  whose  names  it  bore  ; 
the  College  of  New  Jersey  (at  Princeton)  nourished  ;  and 
King's  College,  now  Columbia  College,  established  by  royal 
authority  in  New  York,  and  the  university  of  Pennsylvania, 
began  the  useful  careers  in  which  they  still  continue. 

11.  Domestic  life,  except  among  the  wealthy  planters, 
was  marked  by  great  simplicity.  The  houses  were  plainly 
furnished.  In  a  few  there  were  relics  from  the  old  world, 
such  as  richly-carved  mahogany  side-boards,  mirrors,  and 
tall  Dutch  or  English  clocks.  Every  house  except  Manners 
in  the  far  south,  had  its  great  fireplace,  which  was  and  customs, 
inclosed  in  wide  wooden  mantels.  This  was  sufficiently  spa 
cious  to  receive  logs  of  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter.  It  had 
an  oven  in  the  back,  and  "  a  flue  large  enough  to  permit  the 
ascent  of  a  good-sized  balloon."  Tallow  candles,  in  brass  or 
iron  candlesticks,  were  in  common  use,  but,  for  grand  occa 
sions,  sperm  or  wax  candles  were  used.  High,  four-post  bed 
steads,  and  window  curtains  graced  the  best  chamber,  which 
was  kept  closed- most  of  the  time  and  reserved  "for  com 
pany." 

^"12.  The  New  England  Church,  or,  as  it  was  always  called, 
the  meeting-house,  was  a  great  square  building  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  "  common."  It  had  nothing  of  what  now 
adays  we  call  lecture  rooms  or  vestries.  Neither  had  it  any 
conveniences  for  holding  evening  meetings.  When  these 
were  to  be  held,  and  they  could  only  be  held  in  the  later  colo 
nial  times  when  there  was  no  longer  any  fear  of  Indian 
attack,  the  minister  would  give  notice  in  this  way  :  "  There 
will  be  preaching  on  Wednesday  night  in  the  school-house  at 
early  candle  light.  The  brethren  are  requested  to  bring  their 
own  candles  with  them."  The  old-fashioned  two-tined  fork 
was  the  candlestick  for  the  occasion.  It  was  stuck  through 


118  Condition  of  the  Colonies. 

the  lower  end  of  the  candle  and  then  into  a  block  of  wood 
nailed  against  the  wall. 

13.  There  were  no  carpets,  except  such  as  were  made  of 
rags  and  had  been  woven  by  the  family.     The  many  floors 
were  sprinkled  with  sand.     This  was  particularly  the  custom 
among  the  Dutch,  who,  also,  ornamented  their  front  doors — 
usually   in   two    parts,    upper  and    lower — with  large  brass 
knockers,   which  had  to  be  burnished  every  day.      Pewter 
plates  were  in  ordinary  use,  and  also  plain  crockery  instead 
of  china.     Ladies,  belonging  to  the  wealthy  classes,  had  each 
her  silk  gown,  but  they  did  not  wear  them  every  day,  or  change 
them  with  every  puff  of  fashion.     Home-made  woolen  gar 
ments  were  the  common  wear  of  men  ;  calico  and  blue  check 
of  women.     In   New  Hampshire  "  it  was  ordered  that  the 
sleeves  of  the  women  should  reach  down  to  their  wrists,  and 
their  gowns  be  closed  round  their  necks.     Men  were  obliged 
to  cut  short  their  hair,  that  they  might  not  resemble  women. ' ' 

14.  In  New  York  many  of  the  customs  were  such  as  had 
been  introduced  by  its  Dutch  founders.     Some  of  them  still 
remain  ;  such  as  the  "  May-day  moving,"  the  visit  of  Santa 
Glaus  "the  night  before  Christmas,"  the  coloring  of  "Easter 
eggs,"  and  the  general  visiting  on  New  Year's  day.     In  the 
houses  of  the  wealthy  planters  of  the  south  the  "  people  sat 
on  carved  chairs  at  quaint  tables,  amid  piles  of  ancestral  silver 
ware,  and  drank  punch  out  of  costly  bowls  from  Japan."     In 
that  early  period,  long  before  railroads  were  even  thought  of, 
the  facilities  for  traveling  were  small  indeed.     Stage  coaches 
were  few,  and  horseback  riding  was  common.     In  the  towns 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia  the  ladies  made  visits  in  sedan- 
chairs  borne  by  lackeys  in  livery.     A  coach  ran  in  two  days 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.     From  Boston  to  New  York 
was  a  week's  journey. 

15.  The  Indians  had  a  kind  of   money  called  wampum, 
which  was  made  of  clam  shells.     Gold  and  silver  were  of  no 
value  to  them.     For  the  furs  and  skins  which  they  brought 
to  the  whites,  they  would  only  receive  their  pay  in  strings  of 


Money. 


119 


Money. 


wampum.,  or  in  powder,  shot,  muskets,  or  rum.  Strange  to 
say,  the  whites  adopted  this  kind  of  money,  not 
only  in  transactions  "between  themselves  and  the 
Indians,  but  it  was  taken  in  payment  of  debts  due  by  one  set 
tler  to  another.  But  wampum,  in  the  course  of  time,  became 
so  abundant  that  custom  and  law  abolished  it.  The  gold  and 
silver  money  of  England,  Spain  and  Portugal,  then  came  into 
general  use  ;  "  but  these  coins  being  scarce,  the  people  were 
often  forced  to  barter  their  commodities  instead  of  selling 
them.  If  a  man  wanted  to  buy  a  coat,  he  perhaps  exchanged 
a  bear  skin  for  it.  If  he  wished  for  a  barrel  of  molasses,  he 
might  purchase  it  with  a  pile  of  pine  boards.  Musket  balls 
were  used  instead  of  farthings.  There  was  not  money  enough 
in  any  part  of  the  country  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  ministers, 
so  that  they  sometimes  had  to  take  quintals  of  fish,  bushels  of 
corn,  or  cords  of  wood,  instead  of  silver  or  gold." 

16.  As  the  people  grew  more  numerous,  and  their  trade 
one  with  another  increased,  the  want  of  current  money  was 
still  more  sensibly  felt.  To  supply  the  demand  in  Massachu 
setts,  a  mint  was  established  in  Boston  (1652),  which  coined 
"pine-tree  shillings"  for  more  than  thirty  years.  "  The 
battered  silver  cans 
and  tankards,  silver 
buckles  and  broken 
spoons,  silver  buttons 
of  worn-out  coats, 
and  silver  hilts  of 
swords  that  had  fig 
ured  at  court,  —  all 
such  curious  old  arti- 


PINE-TREE   SHILLING. 


cles  were  doubtless  thrown  into  the  melting-pot  together. 
But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  silver  consisted  of  bullion 
from  the  mines  of  South  America,  which  the  English  bucca 
neers  had  taken  from  the  Spaniards.  Each  coin  had  the 
date  (1652)  on  the  one  side  and  the  figure  of  a  pine  tree  on  the 
other.  Hence  they  were  called  pine-tree  shillings." 


SUMMARY    BY    COLONIES. 


1492. 


1607. 


1609. 


1492  —  1763. 

America  having  been  discovered  and  exten 
sively  explored,  actual  possession  was  taken  of 
the  new  regions  by  the  planting  of  settlements 
in  them.  The  first  attempts  at  settlement  on  the 
part  of  the  French  and  English  were  not  success 
ful.  On  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  was  settled  in  1565,  and  is  therefore  the 
oldest  settlement  in  the  United  States. 

Virginia. — The  next  permanent  settlement 
(this  was  made  by  the  English)  was  at  James 
town.  The  growth  of  Virginia  was  at  first  slow, 
owing  to  the  unfitness  of  the  settlers  for  pioneer 
life.  Domestic  strife,  the  "  Starving  Time," 
hostility  of  the  Indians,  and  Bacon's  Rebellion 
were  causes  against  the  progress  of  the  colony  ; 
the  marriage  of  Pocahoutas,  importation  of  wives, 
and  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  contributed  to  its 
prosperity.  African  slavery  began  in  1619. 
"  English  king  and  English  church  were  alike 
faithfully  honored  here.  The  gentry  of  Virginia 
dwelt  on  their  great  plantations  after  a  fashion 
almost  patriarchal." 

Neio  York  and  New  Jersey. — The  discovery  of 
the  Hudson  river  for  the  Dutch  and  their  ex 
plorations  gave  them  a  title  to  the  country,  which 
they  took  advantage  of  by  making  settlements  at 
various  places.  Liberal  inducements  were  offered 
to  settlers,  who,  coming  mostly  from  England,  pre 
ferred  English  rule  ;  and  the  Dutch  governor  was 
compelled  to  submit  (1664).  New  Netherlands, 
while  in  the  possession  of  the  Dutch,  made  good 
progress  in  population  and  wealth.  A  large  fur 
trade  was  carried  on  with  the  Indians.  The 
early  history  of  New  Jersey  is  connected  with 
that  of  New  York,  both  colonies  having  been 
under  the  same  ownership  or  governor  much  of 
the  time.  In  both  were  large  numbers  of  slaves. 
The  Jerseys  were  never  disturbed  by  Indian  wars. 
The  government  of  both  colonies  was  of  the  class 
called  provincial  or  royal. 

New  England. — Religious  motives  influenced 
the  first  settlers  of  all  the  New  England  colonies. 
The  Pilgrims  left  England  to  escape  persecution, 
and,  after  a  brief  stay  in  Holland,  established 
themselves  at  Plymouth.  The  other  New  Eng- 


Sovereigns 
of  England 


Elizabeth. 

1558-1603. 


James  I. 

1603-1625. 


James  I. 


Summary  ~by  Colonies. 


121 


the  pursuits.  The  Pequod  War,  Persecution  of 
the  Quakers,  King  Philip's  War,  and  the  Witch 
craft  Delusion  were  causes  that  operated  against 
the  progress  of  the  colonies  ;  but  the  principles, 
energy,  and  character  of  the  people,  with  their  in 
struments  of  church,  school,  and  college,  over 
came  all  adverse  circumstances.  At  the  close  of 
this  period,  New  Hampshire  was  under  provincial 
or  royal  government  ;  the  other  colonies  of  New 
England  were  under  the  charter  rule. 

Maryland.  —  The  first  settlement  was  made  at 
St.  Mary's.  The  settlers,  like  those  of  New  Eng 
land,  were  influenced  by  religious  motives  ;  but 
Avhile  they  welcomed  comers  from  every  Chris 
tian  denomination,  it  was  understood  that  the 
colony  was  established  for  the  particular  benefit 
of  Catholics,  who  could  here  enjoy  that  freedom 
which  the  Puritans  had  in  New  England.  The 
settlers  were  intelligent  and  enterprising.  Their 
principal  occupation  was  the  cultivation  of  to 
bacco.  Clayborne's  Rebellion  and  the  Civil  Wars 
were  impediments  in  the  progress  of  the  colony. 
The  form  of  government  was  proprietary. 

North  and  South  Carolina.  —  The  first  settle 
ment  in  North  Carolina  was  made  on  the  Chowan 
river  (1650),  that  of  South  Caiolina  on  the  Ashley 
(1670).  The  settlers  were  from  Virginia,  Eng 
land,  or  from  English  possessions  :  they  were  in 
fluenced  by  the  hope  of  bettering  their  worldly 
condition.  The  cultivation  of  rice  was  carried  on 
extensively  ;  and  indigo,  tar,  and  turpentine  were 
exported.  The  "Grand  Model,"  from  which 
great  expectations  had  been  formed,  was  a 
hindrance  to  the  growth  of  North  and  South 
Carolina.  The  colony  was  divided  in  1729.  The 
form  of  government  of  both  colonies  was  pro 
vincial  or  royal. 

•  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware.  —  Both  Delaware 
and  Pennsylvania  were  settled  by  Swedes,  the 
former  more  than  forty  years  before  Penn  re 
ceived  his  charter  (1688).  The  subjugation  of  the 
Swedes  by  the  Dutch  placed  the  settlers  under 
the  rule  of  New  Netherlands  (1655),  but  the  sur- 


Charles  I. 

1625-1649. 


land  colonies,  except  Rhode  Island,  were  settled 
by  Puritans.  Church  and  civil  matters  were 
united,  and  church  members  only,  in  two  of  the 
colonies,  were  permitted  to  vote  and  hold  office. 
The  first  settlers  of  Rhode  Island,  under  the  lead 
ership  of  Roger  Williams,  admitted  all  persons 
of  whatever  religion  to  participate  in  the  civil 
affairs  of  the  colony.  The  habits  of  the  early 
New  Englanders  were  simple  but  strict.  "  The 
church  and  the  school-house  were  built  side  by 
side."  Fishing,  fur-trading,  and  agriculture  were 


Charles  I. 


Charles  II. 

1660-1685. 


Charles  I, 


122 


Summary  by  Colonies. 


Charles  II. 


George  II, 

1727-1760. 


render  of  New  Netherlands  to  the  English  gave 
that  power  undisturbed  possession  of  the  whole 
region  (1664).  The  charter  obtained  by  Penn, 
with  his  grant  of  Delaware  from  the  Duke  of 
York,  put  both  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  under 

1682.  proprietary  rule.  Like  the  New  England  colonies 
and  Maryland,  a  leading  motive  for  the  settle 
ment  of  Pennsylvania  was  religious.  Penn  wel 
comed  all  good  men  to  his  colony,  but  he  ex 
tended  a  special  invitation  to  Quakers,  who  were 
subjected  to  persecution  in  England.  As  the  In 
dians  were  dealt  with  justly  and  kindly,  no 
Indian  war  ever  disturbed  the  colony  of  Pennsyl 
vania  or  Delaware.  Both  colonies,  especially  the 
former,  made  rapid  growth  in  population. 

1733.  Georgia.  —The  first  settlement  was  at  Savannah. 
The  colony  was  established  for  the  poor — that 
is,  for  those  persons  in  England  who  could  not 
pay  their  debts,  and  who,  in  consequence,  were 
condemned  by  law  to  spend  their  lives  in  prison. 
Other  distressed  persons  found  a  shelter  in 
Georgia,  but  for  a  long  time  the  colony  did  not 
prosper.  How  could  it  with  such  settlers?  The 
hostility  of  the  Spanish  neighbors  of  Florida  was 
another  cause  that  operated  against  its  prosperity, 
until,  finally,  the  colony  was  returned  to  the 
crown,  and  thenceforth  was  under  provincial  or 
royal  government. 

1689          European  Wars. — The  three  wars  of  European 
to        origin — King  William's,  Queen  Anne's,  and  King 

1748.  George's — afflicted  the  northern  colonies  most. 
Their  only  important  result  in  America  was  the 
transfer  of  Acadia  to  England's  possession. 

1754.  French  and  Indian  War. — This  was  a  contest 
between  England  and  France  for  dominion  in 
America.  Both  powers  claimed  the  territory  west 
of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  The  English  were 
aided  by  their  colonists  and  the  Iroquois,  the 
French  by  their  colonists  and  the  Indians  of 
Canada.  The  French,  in  the  first  years  of  the 
war,  drove  the  English  from  the  western  part  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  northern  part  of  New  York  ; 
but  the  English  expelled  the  Acadians  from  Nova 
Scotia,  recovered  their  lost  territory  of  Pennsyl 
vania  and  New  York,  and  finally  gained  a  great 
victory  before  Quebec.  Result :  Canada  and  all 
the  region  to  the  Mississippi,  except  a  very  small 
portion  at  the  mouth  of  that  river,  became  British 

1763.  territory  ;  the  debt  of  Great  Britain  was  greatly 
increased  ;  and  the  colonists  had  taken  important 
lessons  in  the  art  of  war,  which,  in  a  short  time, 
were  to  be  turned  to  account  in  enabling  them  to 
resist  oppression  and  gain  their  independence, 


William  III. 

1689-1702. 

Anne. 

1702-1714. 

George  II. 


George  III 

1760-1820. 


Topical  Review.  123 


GENERAL    SUMMARY. 


1607  When  Newport  sailed  up  the  James  river,  all  America  from 
Nova  Scotia  to  Florida,  was  still  in  possession  of  the  Indians. 
Jamestown  was  the  first  permanent  English  settlement  in 
America.  Two  years  later  the  Dutch,  under  the  leadership  of  an 

1609.  English  navigator,  entered  the  Hudson  river  ;  but  before  Hol 
land  had  effected  any  settlement  in  the  new  region,  the  Vir 
ginians  had  gone  through  the  experience  of  a  "  starving  time," 
and  had  married  one  of  their  number  to  Pocahontas  ;  and  so 
rapid  was  the  march  of  events  that  before  the  Dutch  began  in 
earnest  to  colonize  New  Netherlands  (1623)  the  African  slave 
made  his  appearance  at  Jamestown  (1619).  The  slave  preceded 

1620.  the  Pilgrim.  When,  then,  the  Mayflower's  "little  crew  de 
scended  upon  the  solitary  rock  on  that  level  shore  of  Plymouth," 
slavery  was  already  planted  in  America.  The  "  Pilgrim 
Fathers"  took  early  measures  to  secure  themselves  from  Indian 
molestation  by  making  a  treaty  with  Massasoit.  New  Hamp 
shire  (1623)  and  Connecticut  (1633)  were  settled  ;  but,  two  years 
before  Roger  Williams  "  wandered  over  wooded  hill  and  valley 
to  unfurl  the  banner  of  religious  toleration  (1636),"  Lord  Balti 
more's  colonists  had  established  themselves  at  an  Indian  village 
in  Maryland.  The  Pequod  war,  in  Connecticut,  was  ended  before 
the  Swedes  made  their  appearance  in  the  Delaware.  The  forma 
tion  of  the  New  England  Union  was  effected  (1643)  before  North 
Carolina  was  settled  (1650),  or  before  the  Dutch  subdued  the 
Swedes  in  Delaware  (1655),  or  even  before  the  Puritans  perse 
cuted  the  Quakers  (1656).  The  transfer  of  New  Netherlands  to 
the  English  (1664)  in  the  same  year  led  to  the  colonization  of 
New  Jersey  (1664).  King  Philip's  war,  in  New  England  (1675), 
overlapped  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Virginia  (1676)  ;  and  when 
William  Penn  commenced  what  he  called  the  "  holy  experiment," 
and  founded  the  "  City  of  Brotherly  Love,"  Charleston,  in  South 
Carolina,  was  just  two  years  old.  During  King  William's  war, 
Andres's  career,  as  governor  of  New  England,  was  brought  to  a 
close  (1689),  and  the  "  witchcraft  delusion"  prevailed  (1692).  The 

1732. ' 


1634. 


1682. 


year  in  which  Oglethorpe  and  other  benefactors  were  sent  across 
the  ocean  to  provide  in  America  an  asylum  for  the  "  poor,  dis 
tressed,  or  persecuted  "  was  the  year  of  Washington's  birth  (1732). 
Georgia  was  the  last  settled  of  the  thirteen  colonies  (1733). 


124 


Topical  Remew. 


TOPICS   FOR  REVIEW. 

(See  the  hints  and  directions,  p  49.) 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 
John  Smith.  (See     Hillard's    Life    of    Smith  in   Sparks's 

"  American  Biography.")          -  53-59 

Pocahontas.  (See   Hillard's  Life  of  Smith.)     -        -        -      55-57 

Roger  Williams.         (See   Knowles's    Memoirs   of  Williams,    also 

Elton's  Life  of  Williams.)        -        -         -      72,73 
King  Philip.  (See  Church's  History  of  King  Philip's  War.)  76-78 

Henry  Hudson.  (See  Cleveland's  Life  of  Hudson  in  Sparks's 

"  American  Biography."  Hudson  made  his 
fourth  voyage  in  1(510.  While  in  Hudson's 
bay,  a  mutiny  occurring,  he,  with  eight 
faithful  men,  were  put  into  an  open  boat 

and  abandoned. 47,  80-82 

Peter  Stuyvesant.       (See  Brodhead's  History  of  New  York,  also 
Irving's  "Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  . 

York." 84;  85 

William  Penn.  (See  Janney's  Life  of  Penn,  also  Dixon's.)  -      86-96 

Washington.  (See   Irving's   Life   of   Washington,  or  Mar 

shall's,  or  Sparks's.  Let  the  account  extend 
only  to  the  close  of  the  colonial  period.)  -  103-123 

GEOGRAPHICAL. 


Jamestown 53-59 

Cape  Cod  60,  64 

KennebecR 60 

Plymouth 66 

Charlestown  (now  of  Boston). .       68 

Boston 68 

Connecticut  R 69 

Saybrook 69 

Hartford 69 

New  Haven 70 

Providence 73 

Salem 68,74 

New  York  City 80-85 

Albany 82-85 

Delaware  R 82, 94 

Long  Island 86,87 

Elizabethtown  (Elizabeth). ...       87 
Potomac  R.  .  88 


Wilmington 93 

Philadelphia 92 

Port  Royal,  S.  C 97 

Chowan  R 98 

Charleston. 98,  99 

Savannah 99 

Louisburg 101,  107, 108 

Ohio  R 108-111 

Allegheny  R 103,  104 

Fort    Duquesne    (now    Pitts- 
burg) 105-111 

Crown  Point 107, 108 

Fort  Ticonderoga 107, 108 

Lake  Champlain 41,107, 108 

Fort  Niagara 107 

Lake  George.   108 

Quebec 41,  107-111 

Montreal Ill 


HISTORICAL. 


Virginia 52-59 

New  York 80-85 

Massachusetts 64-79 

New  Hampshi re 67 

Connecticut 69-77 

Maryland 87-91 

Rhode  Island 72,  73.  76 

Delaware 92-96 

North  Carolina 40,  96-99 

New  Jersey 82-87 


South  Carolina 96-99 

Pennsylvania.  . .    91-96 

Georgia 99-101 

European  Wars. 101 

French  and  Indian  War.  .  .105-111 

Bacon's  Rebellion 59 

Pequod  War  70 

King  Philip's  War 76-78 

Salem  Witchcraft 74,75 

Expulsion  of  the  Acadians. .  .     105 


ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA. 

JAMES  VI.  of  Scotland,  son  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  (beheaded  in 
1587),  succeeded  Elizabeth  as  James  I.  of  England,  and  by  this  act 

united  both  crowns,  but  the  two  countries  continued  to 
5    nave  separate  legislatures  a  century  longer.    Two  rebellious 

conspiracies  marked  the  reign  of  James:  one  aimed  to 
place  his  cousin,  Arabella  Stuart,  upon  the  throne,  the  other  to  blow 
up  the  Parliament  Houses  by  means  of  powder  in  their  vaults,  at  a 
moment  when  the  Lords  and  Commons  would  be  assembled  to  hear  the 
king's  speech.  James,  who  avowed  himself  to  be  an  Episcopalian, 
caused  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  to  be  made,  which,  known  as 
"King  James's  version,"  is  still  in  common  use  among  Protestants. 
The  colonization  of  America  began  in  good  earnest,  the  grant  of  North 
and  South  Virginia  by  the  king,  in  1606,  being  the  opening  movement 
(p.  52).  While  the  French  were  pushing  into  Nova  Scotia  and  Canada, 
and  their  missionaries  were  bringing  the  Indians  of  the  lake  region 
under  church  civilization,  and  while  the  Dutch  were  thrusting  a  wedge 
of  settlement  even  into  the  heart  of  the  region  claimed  by  England,  the 
English  were  laying  the  foundations  of  a  great  republic  in  Virginia  and 
New  England  (pp.  52,  66),  a  republic  destined  to  grow  and  to  extend  its 
limits  from  ocean  to  ocean,  despite  the  poison  of  slavery  infused  into  its 
system  during  its  very  infancy  (p.  58).  James  smiled  upon  Virginia, 
but  frowned  upon  New  Engfand.  The  first  newspaper  published  in 
England  made  its  appearance,  sedan  chairs  began  to  be  used,  forks  were 
introduced  from  Italy,  and  the  telescope,  thermometer,  and  microscope 
were  invented.  Shakspeare  and  Raleigh  died. 

This  king,  also  an  Episcopalian,  was  the  second  but  only  surviving 
son  of  James  I.     He  had  hardly  reached  the  throne  when  he  began  to 

devise  plans  for  drawing  a  revenue  from  the  colonies ;  and 

in  his  dealings  with  them  his  aim  was  less  to  promote  their 

.  .  •-  ,          .  1-1  J4i.    £  II         •          •        J 

prosperity  than  to  derive  personal  benefit  from  their  indus 
try.  How  he  planned  to  have  every  pound  of  tobacco  annually  raised 
in  Virginia  pass  through  his  hands  forms  an  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  that  colony.  Believing  that"  kings  rule  by  divine  right,  and 
that  their  wish  is  above  all  law,  his  wants  grew  witli  his  reign.  He 
wanted  money  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  a  war  against  Spain,  to  aid  the 
French  Protestants  in  their  defense  against  Richelieu,  to  subdue  the 
Scotch  Covenanters,  to  fight  Parliament.  A  large  part  of  his  reign  was 
spent  in  disputes  with  the  several  Parliaments.  One  of  these,  known  as 
the  Long  Parliament,  he  greatly  offended,  and  having  failed  to  obtain 
money  by  legal  means  he  procured  it  by  oppressive  exactions.  Both 
parties,  the  king  and  Parliament,  resorting  to  arms,  a  civil  war  raged 
for  several  years.  Finally  the  king  was  taken  prisoner,  tried  for  treason, 
found  guilty,  and  beheaded.  The  only  colonial  charter  granted  by 
Charles  was  for  Maryland  (p.  87),  that  to  Roger  Williams  for  Rhode 
Island  being  obtained  from  Parliament  while  the  king  was  at  war  with 
that  body  (p.  73).  The  close  of  this  reign  finds  six  New  England  colo 
nies  all  well  started  in  settlement,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Plymoutfi, 
bound  together  under  a  form  of  union  (p.  74);  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  Dutch ;  Delaware  a  Swedish 
community;  Maryland  enacting  the  law  of  religious  toleration;  ancl 


England  and  America. 


Virginia,  with  its  one  negro  slave  to  fifty  white  freemen,  more  than 
forty  years  on  its  eventful  career. 

Oliver  Cromwell  had  been  the  most  prominent  man  in  the  opposition 
to  Charles.     He  made  and  unmade  Parliaments,  and,  seven  years  after 

Charles's  death,  received  the  title  of  Lord  Protector  of  the 
n^n6  C-°iti  Commonwealth  °f  England.  By  the  vigor  and  ability  of 
1?649-i66oV  his  administration  and  the  uniform  success  of  his  naval 

and  military  enterprises  the  nation  grew  to  be  powerful. 
The  colonists  of  Virginia,  ever  loyal  to  Charles,  and  now  loyal  to  the 
principle  of  kingly  succession,  looked  upon  Cromwell  and  his  Puritan 
associates  as  rebels;  and  Cromwell  was  careful  never  to  appoint  any  one 
to  office  for  the  colony.  In  Maryland,  the  Protestants,  emboldened  by 
the  elevation  of  Cromwell,  secured  and  abused  power,  and  civil  war 
was  the  consequence  (p.  90).  The  Puritans  of  -New  England,  who 
believed  that  Cromwell's  battles  were  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  alwTays 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  Protector.  He  favored  them  in  many 
ways,  and  when  he  died  and  his  son  succeeded  him  as  Protector  they 
were  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  independence  except  in  name. 

Cromwell's  son  resigned  the  Protectorate  after  holding  it  less  than  a 
year,  and  the  eldest  son  of  Charles  I.  was  proclaimed  king  amid  great 

rejoicings,  the  event  being  known  in  English  history  as  the 
16GO-1685*.  Restoration.  Of  the  judges,  commonly  known  as  "the 

regicides, "  who  had  condemned  the  father  of  the  new  king 
to  the  axe,  three  escaped  to  New  England.  Puritanism  no  longer 
swayed  the  destinies  of  England.  The  Navigation  Act,  declaring  that 
"no  merchandise  shall  be  imported  into  the  colonies  but  in  English 
vessels,"  became  the  law  of  the  land  (1651).  Charles  looked  upon  the 
English  possessions  in  America  as  his  own  personal  property.  He 
granted  to  Connecticut,  it  is  true,  a  liberal  charter  (p.  73),  but  to  this  he 
had  been  influenced  by  the  presentation  to  him  of  a  ring  that  had 
belonged  to  his  father.  He  also  granted  to  Rhode  Island  a  charter 
which  made  that  colony  secure  from  the  claims  of  Massachusetts  (p.  73), 
but  to  this  he  had  been  influenced  by  his  dislike  of  Massachusetts 
because  of  that  colony's  devotion  to  Cromwell.  He  gave  to  two  men 
for  a  term  of  years  the  whole  of  Virginia  (p.  59);  and  to  his  brother,  the 
Duke  of  York,  who  afterward  became  king,  he  gave  not  only  the  most 
of  Maine,  but,  in  total  disregard  of  the  charter  he  had  granted  to  Con 
necticut  a  few  years  before,  he  also  gave  the  territory  from  the 
Connecticut  river  to  Delaware  bay.  To  Penn,  to  whom  he  owed  a  debt 
for  services  rendered  by  Penn's  father,  he  cancelled  the  debt  by  paying 
Pennsylvania  instead  of  money  (p.  91).  His  reign,  as  stated,  began  in 
rejoicings,  but,  in  consequence  of  his  dissolute  habits  and  arbitrary  rule, 
he  died  un lamented  except  by  his  vicious  and  profligate  court.  At  this 
time  Charleston,  the  only  settlement  in  South  Carolina,  was  just  five  years 
old,  Penn's  surveyors  were  still  busy  making  the  streets  of  Philadelphia 
cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  only  three  years  had  passed  since 
La  Salle  had  descended  the  Mississippi  (p.  43).  Milton  died  (1674). 

This  king,   brother  of  Charles  II.,  had,  while  he  was  the  Duke  of 
York,  become  a  great  popular  favorite  in  England  because  of  his  gallant 

naval  exploits,  but  he  soon  offended  his  subjects  by  his 
1685^1*689.  attempts  to  restore  the  Catholic  religion  to  his  country. 

It  was  the  design  of  James  to  annul  all  the  charters  of  the 
American  colonies,  but,  wtth  the  exception  of  the  brief  administration 


William  ///.— 1689-1T02. 


of  Andros,  who,  as  governor  of  all  New  England,  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey,  ruled  with  a  tyrant's  hand,  the  peace  and  progress  of  the  colonies 
were  not  disturbed.  The  short  reign  of  the  king  did  not  give  him  time 
to  put  his  design  into  execution.  He  was  also  kept  busy  at  home,  for 
his  title  to  the  throne  was  disputed  by  the  Duke  of  Monmouth;  and 
though  the  duke  was  defeated  and  executed,  the  people  deserted  James 
and  invited  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  to  come  and  help  them  defend 
their  religion  and  their  freedom.  William  accepted  the  call,  left  Hol 
land,  and  crossed  to  England  with  a  large  army.  The  revolution  was 
peacefully  accomplished.  William  and  his  wife,  Mary,  eldest  daughter 
of  James,  were  placed  upon  the  throne,  while  James  tied  to  France. 

Aided  by  the  French  king  (Louis  XIV.)  James  made  an  effort  to  re 
gain  his  crown,  but  in  the  battle  of  the  Boyne  (Ireland)  he  was  utterly 
defeated,  an(i  again  compelled  to  flee  to  France.  The  war 
.*  that  followed  between  England  and  France,  and  known  as 
"King  William's  War,"  extended  to  America.  William 
left  the  colonies  to  take  care  of  themselves ;  as  a  consequence  the  French 
and  Indians  of  Canada  invaded  New  York  and  New  England  and 
effected  terrible  destruction  of  life  and  property.  Only  four  inhabited 
towns  of  Maine  remained.  As  an  offset,  Port  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia, 
was  captured,  but  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  returned  to  the  French 
(p.  101).  While  the  war  was  in  progress  Sir  William  Phipps,  with  a 
new  charter  which  joined  Plymouth,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Maine  to  Massa 
chusetts,  returned  from  England  to  take  the  place  of  Andros  (p.  78). 
Thus  Plymouth,  contrary  to  her  wishes,  lost  her  separate  existence,  and 
New  Hampshire,  also  contrary  to  her  wishes,  was  taken  from  under  the 
protection  of  Massachusetts  (p.  67).  The  death  of  Mary  left  William  sole 
ruler,  and  when  James's  death  occured,  seven  years  later  (1701),  Louis 
made  preparations  to  force  James's  son  upon  the  throne  of  England; 
but  while  William  was  getting  ready  to  oppose  the  scheme  of  the  French 
king  he  died,  and  Anne,  James's  second  daughter,  known  as  "Good 
Queen  Anne,"  ascended  the  throne,  the  succession  having  been  settled 
on  her  in  1689  when  William  and  Mary  were  crowned. 

The  war  that  followed  was  known  in  the  colonies  as  "  Queen  Anne's 
War"  (p.  101);  but  as  it  became  a  contest  in  which  England,  Holland, 
and  Germany  united  to  prevent  Louis  from  gaining  control 
°f  Spain,  it  was  known  in  Europe  as  the  "War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession."  It  gave  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough, 
Anne's  great  general,  opportunity  to  gain  the  splendid  victories  which 
have  made  his  name  so  famous.  While  the  war  was  in  progress  England 
and  Scotland  were  united  as  Great  Britain;  and  at  its  close  the  English 
were  in  possession  of  Gibraltar,  the  key  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  this, 
the  strongest  fortress  in  the  world,  has  ever  since  continued  to  be  in 
their  possession;  The  French  in  America  meanwhile  were  not  idle. 
Their  missionaries  and  tradesmen  were  active  along  the  lake  region  and 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Immense  numbers  of  furs  were  sent  to 
France. 

Queen  Anne  was  the  last  sovereign  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  and  when 

she  died  the  crown  passed  to  George  I.,  of  the  House  of  Brunswick, 

Ge  whose  mother  was  granddaughter  of  James  I.     All  other 

1741-1737.  neirs  were  thus  passed  over  in  order  to  secure  for  Great 

Britain  a  Protestant  succession.     George,  who  was  born  in 

Germany,  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  English  language.     One  of  the  most 


124  d  England  and  America. 

noted  events  of  his  reign  was  the  South  Sea  scheme,  a  project  of  a  cor 
poration  called  the  South  Sea  Company,  to  pay  off  the  -debt  of  Great 
Britain  by  mercantile  enterprises  with  the  Spaniards  in  South  America. 
The  spirit  of  speculation  pervaded  all  clases,  and  the  premium  for  the 
company's  stock  ran  up  to  nine  hundred  per  cent.  The  bubble,  however, 
soon  broke  and  produced  wide-spread  ruin  (1720).  Louis  XIV.  was  now 
dead,  after  a  reign  of  seventy-two  years.  Addision  (in  1719)  and  Newton 
(in  1727)  died. 

This  king,  a  dull,  conceited  little  despot,  son  of  George  I.,  supported 
the  claims  of  Maria  Theresa  to  the  throne  of  Austria,  and  thus  involved 
%  England    in    the    contest    against    France   known   as  the 

1737-T760.  "War  of  the  Austrian  Succession."  In  America,  where 
it  was  known  as  "King  George's  War"  (p.  101),  old  rivalries 
raged  between  English  and  Spanish  traders,  and  a  contest  began  respect 
ing  the  boundary  between  Georgia  and  Florida.  After  the  war  had  con 
tinued  about  five  years  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  made;  but  this 
secured  a  peace  of  only  six  years,  when  the  struggle  was  renewed  in 
consequence  of  conflicting  claims  to  territory  in  America,  and  during 
the  contest  England  took  part  in  the  famous  Seven  Years'  War  (pp.  101- 
111).  At  the  close  of  this  reign  all  of  America  north  of  Florida  and  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  as  far  as  explorations  had  been  made,  was  in  the  pos 
session  of  Great  Britain,  though  the  treaty  with  France  confirming  this 
possession  was  not  made  till  three  years  later  (p.  111).  Florida  still 
belonged  to  Spain,  though  it  likewise  was  given  up  to  England  three 
years  later,  England  returning  Cuba  to  Spain  in  exchange ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  Spain  recovered  from  France  the  New  Orleans  part  of 
Louisiana  and  all  the  rest  of  that  then  unknown  region  extending 
hundreds  of  miles  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  claims  of  Spain  to  the 
western  side  of  America  were  not  up  to  this  time  really  disputed  by  any 
power.  No  English  vessels  had  been  there  since  Drake  made  his 
explorations  and  submitted  to  the  king-crowning  farce  at  the  hands  of 
the  California  Indians  in  1579  (p.  39).  The  thirteen  colonies,  including 
Georgia,  which,  eight  years  before,  had  passed  from  the  rule  of  the 
trustees  to  that  of  the  crown,  had  a  population  of  not  far  from  a  million 
of  white  inhabitants,  among  whom  circulated  about  twenty  newspapers. 
Goldsmith  and  Pope  had  been  dead  sixteen  years.  Washington,  who 
was  then  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  was  only  half  as  old  as  Dr. 
Franklin. 

During  the  sixty  years'  reign  of  George  III.,  grandson  of  George  II., 
the  peace  of  Paris,   closing  the  French  and  Indian  War,  was  made 

(p.    Ill)  ;    the   thirteen   American    colonies    revolted  and 
?76$-i820."  gained  their  independence  (pp.  125-181);  England  "shook 

under  the  volcano  of  the  French  Revolution;"  grappled 
and  fought  for  life  with  her  great  enemy  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ;  and 
waged  her  second  war  to  the  end  with  the  United  States  (pp.  204-216). 
When  George  III.  died,  David  Hume,  the  historian,  had  been  dead  44 
years;  William  Pitt,  earl  of  Chatham,  the  friend  of  America,  42  years; 
Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  dictionary-maker,  35  years;  Dr.  Franklin,  the 
lightning-trainer  and  philosopher,  30  years;  Gibbon,  the  historian,  26 
years;  Burns,  the  Scotch  poet,  24  years;  Edmund  Burke,  the  orator 
and  political  writer,  23  years;  and  Washington,  21  years.  The  Prince 
of  Wales,  who,  because  of  his  father's  insanity,  had  been  regent  ten. 
years,  ascended  tht)  throne  as  George  IV, 


Causes  of  the  War.  125 


SECTION    III. 


THE   KEVOLUTIONARY   PEEIOD. 

1.  FOR  many  years  England  had  governed  her  American 
colonies  in  a  harsh,  unjust,  and  selfish  spirit.     The  colonies 
were  ruled,  not  for  their  good,  but  for  the  benefit  of  English 
commerce  and  English  work  shops.     They  were      causes 
forbidden  to  send  their  tobacco,  rice,  lumber,  fish,          of 

or  any  of  their   other  products,  to  any  country     *  ewar> 
except  England.     No  foreign  ships  were  permitted  to  enter 
their   ports.     Do  we   wonder,  then,  that   the  colonists  were 
dissatisfied  ?    And  can  we  wonder  that  when  fresh  burdens 
were  put  upon  them,  they  rebelled  ? 

2.  The  French  and  Indian  war  had  cost  a  vast  sum  of  money. 
In  order  to  carry  it  on,  Great  Britain  had  been  obliged  to 
borrow  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  thus  increasing  her 
national  debt  by  that  amount.     The  English   government, 
therefore,  asserting  that  the  war  had  been  waged  in  behalf  of 
the  colonies,  further  asserted  that  they  ought  to  bear  a  part 
of  the  burden.     The  right  to    tax  the  colonies  was   boldly 
proclaimed  by  Parliament ;  but  the  colonists  did  not  agree  to 
this.     They  claimed  that  during  the  war  they  had  performed 
their  full  share  in  defending  their  territory,  that  their  pre 
servation  as  English  colonies  was  quite  as  much  for  the  ben 
efit  of  England  as  themselves,  and  that  they  could  not  in  jus 
tice  be  taxed  by  a  legislature  in  which  they  were  not  repre 
sented.     "  Taxation  and  representation/'  they  maintained, 
should  go  together  !     "  This  claim  of  the  right  of  taxation 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  denial  of  it  on  the  other,  was  the 
very  hinge  on  which  the  revolution  turned." 

3.  The  remonstrance  was  all  to  no  effect.     A  law  was  pass 
ed  called  the  Stamp  Act  (1765).     This  required  that  all  busi- 


126 


The  War  of  the  Revolution. 


1765 


ness  papers,  such  as  deeds,  bonds,  and  notes,  and  all  such 
The       printed  matter  as  newspapers  and  almanacs,  should 
Stamp  Act.  have  stamps  put  upon  them.     The  law,  however, 
could  not  disguise  the  intent :  it  was  "taxation  by  means  of 
a  stamp  duty."     Benjamin  Franklin,  who  was  then  in  Eng 
land,  said    that  "America  would 
never  submit  to  the  Stamp  Act ;" 
and  America  never  did.     Indigna 
tion  meetings  were  held,  and  pro 
tests  were  uttered.     In  the  legisla 
ture  of  Virginia,  Patrick  Henry,  "  a 
young    man    highly   distinguished 
for    his    moral     courage,"    spoke 
with    startling    eloquence   against 
the  injustice  of  the  measure,   ex 
claiming,  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus  ; 
Charles  the  First,  his  Cromwell  ; 
and  George  the  Third—"     "  Trea 
son  !  Treason  !"  was  shouted  from 
every  part  of  the  house.     The  ora 
tor,   after  a  pause,   thus  concluded  the  sentence:    " — may 
profit  by  their  example.     If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most 
of  it."  ' 

4.  James  Otis,  a  brilliant,  bold,  and  defiant  orator,  "  the 
creator  of  the  theory  of  independence,"  in  the  Massachusetts 
Assembly,  also  eloquently  denounced  the  act,  and,  on  his 
motion,  adopted  by  the  Assembly,  a  congress  of  delegates 
from  nine  of  the  colonies  met  in  the  city  of  New  York  "  to 
consult  for  the  general  safety."  The  Declaration  of  Eights 
and  the  petitions  addressed  to  the  king  and  Parliament,  the 
work  of  this  congress,  were  as  nothing  to  the  fact  that  a  be 
ginning  had  been  made  in  effecting  a  union  by  which  the 
colonies  became,  as  the  delegates  expressed  it,  "a  bundle  of 
sticks  which  could  neither  be  bent  nor  broken."  While  the 
congress  was  in  session  a  ship  with  stamps  arrived  at  New 
York,  and  "  at  once  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbor  lowered 


PATRICK  HENRY. 


1767  The  Boston  Massacre, 


their  colors.     The  whole  city  rose  up  as  one  man  in  opposi 
tion  to  the  Stamp  Act  (Oct.  1765)." 

5.  "The  first  Monday  of  November,"  the  day  on  which 
the  obnoxious  measure  was  to  go  into  effect^  "  broke  upon  a 
people  unanimously  resolved  on  nullifying  the  Stamp  Act. 
From  New  Hampshire  to  the  far  south,  the  day  was  intro 
duced    by  the  tolling  of  muffled  bells  ;    minute-guns  were 
iired,  and  penants  hoisted  at  half-staff."     Not  a  stamp  was 
to  be  seen,  for  everywhere  it  was  the  fixed  purpose  that  the 
act  should  not  go  into  effect.     As  business,  therefore,  con 
tinued  to  be  conducted  in  the  old  method,  that  is  without 
stamps,  for  all  of  them  had  been  concealed  or  destroyed  ;  and 
as  the  merchants  of  all  the  cities  agreed  to  import  no  goods 
while  the  Stamp  Act  remained  a  law,   Parliament  yielded. 
The  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  but  the  right  to  tax  America 
was    again    asserted  and    proclaimed    (1766).     The  stamps, 
what  became   of  them  ?     They  were    returned    to  England 
"  where  the   curious   traveler   may  still  see  bags   of   them, 
cumbering  the  office  from  which  they  were  issued." 

6.  The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  caused  great  rejoicing 
throughout    the  colonies.     Virginia  and   New   York   voted 
statues  to  the  king.     New  York  also  voted  a  statue  to  Pitt, 
who,  in  Parliament  had  declared  "  that  the  king-        The 
dom  had  no  right  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  colonies."       Boston 

A  second  statue  was  voted  to  Pitt  by  Maryland.  massacre< 
But  the  joy  was  short-lived  ;  for  soon  another  law  was  passed 
by  Parliament  imposing  a  tax  on  all  glass,  painters'  colors, 
and  tea,  imported  into  the  colonies  (1767).  Again  the 
spirit  of  opposition  was  aroused  not  unlike  that  which  had 
been  caused  by  the  Stamp  Act.  The  colonists  determined  to 
import  no  more  of  these  articles.  Franklin,,  still  in  Eng 
land,  advised  his  countrymen  "  to  light  the  torches  of  indus 
try  and  economy."  As  the  people  of  Boston  showed  the 
most  decided  opposition  to  the  tax,  a  body  of  the  king's  sol 
diers  were  sent  to  keep  them  in  subjection.  The  presence  of 
these  "  redcoats,"  or  "  lobsterbacks,"  as  they  were  called  by 


128  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1770 

the  boys  in  the  streets,  caused  constant  affrays,  in  one  of 
which,  known  as  the  "  Boston  Massacre/'  the  soldiers  fired 
on  the  people.  "  A  gush  of  smoke  overspread  the  scene.  It 
rose  heavily,  as  if  it  were  loath  to  reveal  the  dreadful  spectacle 
beneath  it.  Eleven  of  the  sons  of  New  England  lay  stretched 
upon  the  street.  Some,  sorely  wounded,  were  struggling  to 
rise  again.  Others  stirred  not  nor  groaned  ;  for  they  were 
past  all  pain.  Blood  was  streaming  upon  the  snow  ;  and 
though  that  purple  stain  melted  away  in  the  next  day's 
sun,  it  was  never  forgotten  nor  forgiven  by  the  people 
(1770)."  ' 

7.  Before  the  news  of  this  event  reached  England,  Parlia 
ment  revoked  the  duty  which  had  been  imposed  on  glass  and 
painters'  colors,  but  retained  that  of  three  pence  a  pound  on 

The       tea.     This  concession,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the 
Boston     people,  for  they  were  contending,  not  against  the 
ea party,    amount  Qi  the  tax  but  for  the  principle  of  "no 
taxation   without   representation."     They  were    determined 
not  to  be  taxed  except  by  their  own  representatives.     Ac 
cordingly,  the  tea  brought  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
was  sent  back.     That  which  came  to  Charleston  was  stored 
in  damp  cellars,  and  as  no  one  would  buy  or  use  it,  it  soon 
became  worthless. 

8.  "  Samuel  Adams  was  the  true  king  in  Boston  at  that 
time,  though  honors,  emoluments,  and  even  power  he  never 


1  Two  years  later  an  affair  occurred  in  Narragansett  bay,  which,  says 
Arnold,  Rhode  Island's  historian,  "  is  deserving  of  commendation  as  it 
was  the  first  blow,  in  all  the  colonies,  for  freedom."  The  Gaspee,  a 
British  schooner,  was  stationed  in  the  bay  "  to  prevent  the  clandestine 
landing  of  goods  subject  to  the  payment  of  duty. "  The  packet  Hannah, 
from  New  York,  while  proceeding  up  the  bay  was  chased  by  the  Gaspee, 
but  the  latter  ran  aground,  and  tlie  Hannah  thus  escaped  to  Providence. 
The  situation  of  the  hated  enemy  was  soon  proclaimed  at  Providence  by 
beat  of  drum,  calling  upon  those  who  desired  to  go  and  destroy  her,  to 
meet  that  evening.  Eight  long-boats  were  provided,  and  the  party  em 
barked.  It  was  past  midnight  when  they  approached  the  Gaspee.  The 
attacking  party  boarded  the  schooner,  and,  after  a  brief  struggle,  the 
crew  surrendered  and  were  put  on  shore,  their  vessel  being  set  fire  to 
and  completely  destroyed. 


1773  The  Boston  Tea  Party.  129 

sought.  He  was  a  man  of  cultivated  mind  and  stainless  rep 
utation,  a  powerful  speaker  and  writer,  a  man  in  whose  saga 
city  and  moderation  all  men  trusted.  He  was  among  the 
first  to  see  that  there  was  no  resting-place  in  this  great  strug 
gle  short  of  independence.  The  men  of  Boston  felt  the 
power  of  his  resolute  spirit,  and  manfully  followed  where 
Samuel  Adams  led.  With  his  tongue  and  pen  he  made  the 
king  of  England  tremble  on  his  throne."  "  The  king,"  he 
said,  "  lias  no  right  to  send  troops  here  to  invade  the  coun 
try  ;  if  they  come,  they  will  come  as  foreign  enemies.  We 
will  not  submit  to  any  tax,  nor  become  slaves.  We  will  take 
up  arms,  and  spend  our  last  drop  of  blood  before  the  king  and 
Parliament  shall  impose  upon  us.  It  was  not  reverence  for 
kings  that  brought  the  ancestors  of  New  England  to  Amer 
ica.  They  fled  from  kings  and  looked  up  to  the  King  of 
kings.  We  are  free,  and  want  no  king." 

9.  Three  "  tea-ships"  arrived  at  Boston,  and  the  agents  re 
fused  to  send  them  back  to  London.  Public  meetings  were 
held.  Faneuil  (fan'-you'T)  Hall  l  could  not  contain  the  peo 
ple  that  poured  into  the  town,  so  they  adjourned  to  the 
"  Old  South  Meeting  House."  Samuel  Adams,  John  Han 
cock,  Joseph  Warren,  and  other  notable  patriots  conducted 
the  proceedings.  The  time  for  action  at  length  arrived  and 
Adams  gave  the  word.  "  On  the  instant,  a  cry  was  heard  at 
the  porch  ;  the  war-whoop  resounded  ;  a  body  of  men,  forty 
or  fifty  in  number,  disguised  with  painted  faces  and  clad  in 
blankets  as  Indians,  each  holding  a  hatchet,  passed  by  the 
door."  The  crowd  .followed.  The  ships  were  boarded. 
Silently  and  quickly  "  these  grim  figures,  the  painted  war- 


1  Faneuil  Hall,  in  Boston,  was  used  by  the  patriots  during  the  revolu 
tion,  and  for  that  reason  is  often  called  the  ' '  Cradle  of  American  Liberty. " 
The  original  building,  comprising  a  market-place  on  the  ground  floor,  a 
town-hall,  and  other  rooms,  was  erected  by  Peter  Faneuil.  In  1761,  it 
was  destroyed  by  tire  ;  but  in  1763  it  was  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  the 
town  ;  and  when  the  British  occupied  Boston  in  1775,  they  used  the 
Hall  for  a  theatre.  In  1805,  the  building  underwent  considerable  altera 
tion. 


130 


TJie  War  of  the  Revolution. 


1774 


rjors,  hoisted  the  tea  chests  on  the  decks  of  the  vessels,  broke 
them  open,,  and  threw  all  their  contents"  into  the  water 
(1773).  • 

10.  It  began  to  be  suggested  that  a  union  of  the  colonies 
would  be  the  best  barrier  against  the  wrongful  measures  of 


FANEUIL  HALL,  IN  1 


Parliament.      Accordingly,    committees    of    correspondence 
were  speedily  formed   in  New  England  and   Virginia,   and 
The  fir  t     communication   by  letters  was  opened  with   the 
Continental  leading  patriots  in  every  colony.     The  first  result 


Congress. 


wag  goon 


Delegates  from  all  the  colonies, 


except  Georgia,  met  in  Philadelphia  (1774).  The  low-roofed 
quaint  old  room  in  which  the  meeting  was  held,  is,  to  this 
day,  one  of  the  shrines  which  Americans  delight  to  visit. 


1  "  When  tidings  of  this  bold  deed  were  carried  to  England,  King 
George  was  greatly  enraged.  Parliament  immediately  passed  an  act 
known  as  the  "  Boston  Port  Bill,"  by  which  all  vessels  were  forbidden 
to  take  in  or  discharge  their  cargoes  at  the  port  of  Boston.  In  this  way 
they  expected  to  ruin  all  the  merchants,  and  starve  the  poor  people  by 
depriving  them  of  employment."  Thus  was  Boston  punished. 


1775  The  Struggle  Begins.  l3i 

Washington  was  there,  and  so  too  were  Patrick  Henry,  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee,  Samuel  and  John  Adams,  John  Jay,  and 
other  good  men  and  true.  It  was  resolved  that  all  commerce 
with  England  should  be  stopped,  addresses  were  voted  to  the 
king  and  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  an  appeal  for  sup 
port  was  made  by  the  delegates  to  their  brother  colonists  of 
Canada.  "  Whenever  my  country  calls  upon  me,"  said  Wash 
ington,  "  I  am  ready  to  take  my  musket  on  my  shoulder.'7 

11.  Previous  to  this,  General  Gage  had  been  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  king's  troops  in  the  colonies,  and  had 
also    been  made    governor  of    Massachusetts.     The   people, 
though  greatly  excited,  acted  with  prudence  and  preparations 
caution.     They  did  not  desire  a  conflict  with  the     for  war. 

"  mother  country,"  but  were  prepared  for  it,  should  it  prove 
unavoidable.  The  militia  were  organized  ;  and,  in  Massa 
chusetts,  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  were  put  under  daily 
training.  "  The  Americans  called  them  Minute  Men,  be 
cause  they  engaged  to  be  ready  to  fight  at  a  minute's  warning. 
The  English  officers  laughed,  and  said  that  the  name  was  a 
very  proper  one,  because  the  '  Minute  Men'  would  run  away 
the  minute  they  saw  the  enemy.  Whether  they  would  fight 
or  run  was  soon  to  be  proved." 

THE    WAR    FOR   IKDEPEXDEKCE. 

12.  England  showed  no  disposition  to  relent.     The  king, 
not  only  returned  no  reply  to  the  address  of  the  American 
Congress,  but  Parliament  would  not  even  allow  the  address 
to  be  read  in  either  of  its  houses.     In  America,        The 
events  were  approaching  a  crisis.     Late  one  April     struggle 
night  eight  hundred  of  the  king's  soldiers,  com-     be£ms- 
manded  by  Colonel  Smith,  left  Boston  to  destroy  some  am 
munition  and  provisions  which  the  patriots  had  collected  at 
Concord,  a  small  town  about  sixteen  miles  distant  (1775). 

13;  "  Gage  thought  that  the  movement  was  a   profound 
secret,  but  Lord  Percy,  who  had  heard  the  people  say  on  the 


182  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1775 

Common  that  the  troops  would  miss  their  aim,  undeceived 
Paul       him.     Gage  instantly  ordered  that  no  one  should 
Reyere's    leave  the  town.     But  Dr.  Warren  was  before  him, 
L  e'       and  as  the  troops  crossed  the  river,  Ebenezer  Dorr, 
with  a  message  to  John  Hancock  and   Samuel  Adams,  was 
riding  over  the  Neck  to  Roxbury,  and  Paul  Revere  was  row 
ing  over  the    river  farther  down,   to    Charlestown,   having 
agreed  with  his  friend,  Robert  Newman,  to  show  lanterns 
from  the  belfrey  of  the  Old  North  Church — 

c  One,  if  by  land,  and  two,  if  by  sea ' — 

as  a  signal  of  the  march  of  the  British.  Already  the  moon 
was  rising,  and  while  the  troops  were  stealthily  landing  at 
Lechmere  Point,  their  secret  was  flashed  out  into  the  April 
night,  and  Paul  Revere,  springing  into  the  saddle  upon  the 
Charlestown  shore,  spurred  away  into  Middlesex. 

'  How  far  that  little  candle  throws  his  beams. ' 

The  modest  spire  yet  stands,  reverend  relic  of  the  old  town  of 
Boston,  of  those  brave  men  and  their  deeds. 

14.  It  was  a  brilliant  April  night.  The  winter  had  been 
unusually  mild,  and  the  spring  very  forward.  The  hills 
were  already  green.  The  early  grain  waved  in  the  fields,  and 
the  air  was  sweet  with  blossoming  orchards.  Already  the 
robins  whistled,  the  bluebird  sang,  and  the  benediction  of 
peace  rested  upon  the  landscape.  Under  the  cloudless  moon 
the  soldiers  silently  marched  ;  and  Paul  Revere  swiftly  rode, 
galloping  through  Medford  and  West  Cambridge,  rousing 
every  house  as  he  went,  spurring  for  Lexington  and  Hancock 
and  Adams,  and  evading  the  British  patrols  who  had  been 
sent  out  to  stop  the  news.  Stop  the  news  !  Already  the  vil 
lage  churches  were  beginnyig  to  ring  the  alarm,  as  the  pul 
pits  beneath  them  had  been  ringing  for  many  a  year.  In  the 
awakening  houses,  lights  flashed  from  window  to  window. 
Drums  beat  faintly  far  away  and  on  every  side.  Signal-guns 
flashed  and  echoed.  The  watch-dogs  barked.  Stop  the 
news  !  Stop  the  sunrise.  The  murmuring  night  trembled 


1775  Lexington  and  Concord.  133 

with  the  summons  so  earnestly  expected,  so  dreaded,  so  de 
sired.  Such  was  the  history  of  that  night  in  how  many 
homes  !  The  hearts  of  those  men  and  women  of  Middlesex 
might  break,  but  they  could  not  waver.  They  had  counted 
the  cost.  They  knew  what  and  whom  they  served  ;  and  as 
the  midnight  summons  came,  they  started  up  and  answered, 
•'Here  ami."' 

15,  The  British  troops  meanwhile  moved  steadily  along  ; 
but  "  the  firing  of  guns  and  ringing  of  bells  announced  that 
their  expedition  had  been  heralded  before  them  ;  and  Smith 

sent  back  for  a  re-enforcement.     The  last  stars    T    . 

.Lexington 

were  vanishing  from  night  when  the  foremost  and 
party,  led  by  Pitcairn,  a  major  of  marines,  was  oncor  ' 
discovered  by  the  husbandmen  of  Lexington,  advancing 
quickly  and  in  silence.  Alarm  guns  were  fired  and  the 
drums  beat.  Less  than  seventy,  perhaps  less  than  sixty, 
obeyed  the  summons,  and,  in  sight  of  half  as  many  boys  and 
unarmed  men,  were  paraded  in  two  ranks,  a  few  rods  north 
of  the  meeting  house.  The  ground  on  which  they  trod  was 
the  altar  of  freedom,  and  they  were  to  furnish  the  victims. 
Pitcairn  rode  in  front  of  his  men,  and,  when  within  five  or 
six  rods  of  the  minute  men,  cried  out  :  '  Disperse,  ye  vil 
lains  !  ye  rebels,  disperse  !  lay  down  your  arms  !  why  don't 
you  lay  down  your  arms  and  disperse  ? '  The  patriots  stood 
motionless  in  the  ranks,  witnesses  against  aggression  ;  too 
few  to  resist,  too  brave  to  fly.  At  this,  Pitcairn  discharged 
a  pistol,  and  with  a  loud  voice  cried,  '  Fire  ! '  The  order  was 
followed  by  a  close  and  deadly  discharge  of  musketry. 

16.  Day  came  in  all  the  beauty  of  an  early  spring.     The 
trees  were  budding  ;  the  grass  was  growing  rankly  a  month  be 
fore  its  time  ;  the  bluebird  and  the  robin  were  gladdening  the 
genial  season  and  calling  forth  the  beams  of  the  sun  which 
on  that  morning  shone  with  the  warmth  of  summer  ;  but 
distress    and  horror    gathered  over    the  inhabitants  of   the 
little   town.     There,  on   the   grass,  lay  in   death  the  gray- 
haired  and  the  young  ;  the  grassy  field  was  red  '  with  the  in- 


134  TJie  War  of  the  Revolution.  1775 

nocent  blood  of  their  brethren  slain./  crying  unto  God  for 
vengeance  from  the  ground.  Seven  of  the  men  of  Lexing 
ton  were  killed,  nine  wounded  ;  a  quarter  part  of  all  who 
stood  in  arms  on  the  green.  These  are  the  village  heroes, 
who  were  of  more  than  noble  blood,  proving  by  their  spirit 
that  they  were  of  a  race  divine.  They  gave  their  lives  in  tes 
timony  to  the  rights  of  mankind,  bequeathing  to  their  coun 
try  an  assurance  of  success  in  the  mighty  struggle  which  they 
began." 

17.  After  a  halt  of  less  than  thirty  minutes,  the  British 
troops  marched  on  for  Concord,  and  there  destroyed  all  the 
stores  they  could  find,  but  not  without  a  severe  skirmish  in 
which  several  persons  were  killed  on  both  sides.     Meanwhile 
the  militia  had  collected  in  large  numbers.     The  British  be 
gan  to  retreat,  but  they  were  not  permitted  to  escape  thus. 
Every  fence,  barn,  and  shed,  "  every  piece  of  wood,  every  rock 
by  the  wayside, "  hid  their  assailants.     "Scarce  ten  of  the 
Americans  were  at  any  time  seen  together,  yet  the  hills  on 
each  side  of  the  road  seemed  to  the  British  to  swarm  with 
'  rebels/  as  if  they  had  dropped  from  the  clouds.     At  Lex 
ington  the  invaders  were  met  by  re-enforcements  under  Lord 
Percy  ;  and  while  their  cannon  kept  the  Americans  at  bay, 
Percy  formed  his  men  into  a  square,  enclosing  the  fugitives, 
who  lay  down  for  rest  on  the  ground,  '  their  tongues  hanging 
out  of  their  mouths  like  those  of  dogs  after  a  chase.'     Delay 
to  the  British  was  sure  to  prove  ruinous.     Aware  of  his  peril, 
Percy,  resting  but  half  an  hour,  renewed  the  retreat.     The 
Americans  pressed  upon  the  rear  of  the  fugitives,  keeping  up 
a  constant  fire,  and,  until  a  little  after  sunset,  when  the  sur 
vivors  escaped  across  Charlestown  Neck,  the   pursuit  never 
flagged.      On   that   day,  forty-nine   Americans   were  killed, 
thirty-four   wounded,  and   five   missing.       The   loss   of    the 
British,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  was  two   hundred 
and  seventy  three  (April  19,  1775)." 

18.  This  contest  fully  aroused  the  colonies.     "  With  one 
impulse,  they  sprang  to  arms  ;  with  one  spirit,  they  pledged, 


1775  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  :?  135 


themselves  to  each  other  '  to  be  ready  for  the  extreme  event. ' 
With  one  heart,  the  continent  cried  :  '  Liberty  or  Eff 
Death.'  '  The  patriots  nocked  in  from  all  sides  of 
and  formed  a  camp  near  Boston.  Putnam,  of  tliebattle- 
Connecticut,  left  his  plough  in  the  field;  turned  loose  the 
oxen,  buckled  on  his  sword,  and  rode  to  the  camp  in  one 
day,  a  distance  of  sixty-eight  miles.  Stark,  Greene,  and 
others  were  soon  there  also.  General  Ward,  of  Massachu 
setts,  was  exercising  a  limited  command,  for  as  yet  no  one 
had  been  authorized  to  assume  supreme  control.  Georgia 
sent  gifts  of  money  and  rice,  and  cheering  letters.  New 
York  and  Virginia  sent  encouraging  words.  North  Carolina 
threw  off  the  authority  of  the  king.  There  was  a  general 
resort  to  arms,  one  of  the  immediate  and  important  results 
being  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  by  a  body  of  Green  Moun 
tain  Boys,  under  the  heroic  leadership  of  Ethan  Allen. 

19.  "  A  flight  of  stairs  outside  of  the  barracks  was  pointed 
out,  which  Allen  hastily  ascended,  and  with  a  voice  of  thun 
der  at  the  door,  cried  out  to  the  captain  to  come  forth  in 
stantly  or  the  whole  garrison  should  be  sacrificed. 

At  this  the  captain  came  out  undressed,  with  his  of 
breeches  in  his  hand.  '  Deliver  to  me  the  fort  in-  Ticonder°£a- 
stantly,'  said  Allen.  '  By  what  authority?'  asked  the  cap 
tain.  '  In  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continen 
tal  Congress,'  answered  Allen.  The  captain  began  to  speak, 
but  was  peremptorily  interrupted,  and  at  sight  of  Allen's 
drawn  sword  near  his  head,  he  gave  up  the  garrison.  Thus 
Ticonderoga,  which  cost  the  British  nation  eight  millions 
sterling,  a  succession  of  campaigns,  a,nd  many  lives,  was  won 
m  ten  minutes  by  a  few  undisciplined  volunteers,  without  the 
loss  of  life  or  limb  (May  10,  1775)." 

20.  It  coming  to  the  knowledge   of  the  Americans  that 
Gage  intended  to  extend  his  lines  north  and  south, 

they  determined  to  anticipate  the  movement  by         of 
occupying   Bunker   Hill.      Accordingly,    Colonel  Bunker  Hill> 
Prescott  was  sent  at  night  with  a  thousand  men  to  fortify 


136 


War  of  the  Revolution. 


1775 


the  hill ;  but,  on  reaching  the  ground,  "  obeying  the  orders  as 
he  understood  them,"  he  selected  Breed's  Hill,  an  eminence 
nearer  Boston.  The  pickax  and  spade  were  plied  with  vigor, 

and  at  dawn  Gage  and  his 
officers  were  astonished  by 
the  view  of  a  strong  re 
doubt,  thrown  up  as  if  by 
magic.  An  attack  was  at 
once  ordered  (June  17). 
"  The  British  troops,  hav 
ing  crossed  the  river,  m  o ved 
forward  in  two  divisions, 
— General  Howe  with  the 
right  wing,  to  penetrate 
the  American  line  at  the 
rail  fence  and  cut  off  a  re 
treat  from  the  redoubt, — 
General  Pigot,  with  the 
left  wing,  to  storm 
moved  forward  slowly, 
full  of  provisions, 


the 
for 
ob- 


breastwork  and  redoubt.  They 
they  were  burdened  with  knapsack 
structed  by  the  tall  grass  and  the  fences,  and  heated  by  a 
burning  sun  ;  but  they  felt  unbounded  confidence  in  their 
strength,  regarded  their  antagonists  with  scorn,  and  expected 
an  easy  victory.  The  Americans  coolly  waited  their  approach. 
Their  officers  ordered  them  to  reserve  their  fire  until  the 
British  were  within  ten  or  twelve  rods,  and  then  to  wait  till 
the  word  was  given.  '  Powder  was  scarce  and  must  not  be 
wasted,'  they  said.  '  Fire  low  ;  aim  at  the  waistbands  ;  wait 
until  you  see  the  white  of  their  eyes. '  *  * 

21.  At  length  the  British  troops  reached  the  prescribed  dis 
tance,  and  the  order  was  given  to  fire  ;  when  there  was  a  dis 
charge  from  the  redoubt  and  breastwork,  that  did  terrible  ex 
ecution  on  the  British  ranks.  But  it  was  received  with  vet 
eran  firmness,  and,  for  a  few  minutes,  was  sharply  returned. 
The  Americans,  being  protected  by  their  works,  suffered  but 


1775  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  137 

little  ;  but  their  murderous  balls  literally  strewed  the  ground 
with  the  dead  and  wounded  of  the  enemy.  General  Pigot 
was  obliged  to  order  a  retreat,  when  the  exulting  shout  of 
victory  rose  from  the  American  lines.  The  patriot  volunteer 
saiv  the  veterans  of  England  fly  before  his  fire,  and  felt  a  new 
confidence  in  himself.  *  *  *  General  Howe,  in 
a  short  time,  rallied  his  troops,  and  immediately  ordered  an 
other  assault.  They  marched  in  the  same  order  as  before,  and 
continued  to  fire  as  they  approached  the  lines.  But,  in  ad 
dition  to  the  previous  obstacles,  they  were  obliged  to  step  over 
the  bodies  of  their  fallen  countrymen.  Charlestown,  in  the 
meantime,  had  been  set  on  fire  by  shells  thrown  from  Copp's 
Hill  and  by  a  party  of  marines.  And  now  ensued  one  of  the 
greatest  scenes  of  war  that  can  be  conceived.  To  fill  the 
eye, — a  brilliantly  appointed  army  advancing  to  the  attack 
and  storming  the  works,  supported  by  co-operating  ships  and 
batteries  ;  the  blaze  of  the  burning  town,  coursing  whole 
streets  or  curling  up  the  spires  of  public  edifices  ;  the  air 
above  filled  with  clouds  of  dense  black  smoke,  and  the  sur 
rounding  hills,  fields,  roofs,  and  steeples,  occupied  by  crowds 
of  spectators.  To  fill  the  ear, — the  shouts  of  the  contending 
armies,  the  crash  of  the  falling  buildings,  and  the  roar  of  the 
cannon,  mortars,  and  musketry.  *  * 

22.  At  length,  at  the  prescribed  distance,  the  fire  was  again 
given  by  the  patriots,  which,  in  its  fatal  impartiality,  pros 
trated  whole  ranks  of  officers  and  men.     The  enemy  stood 
the  shock,  and  continued  to  advance  with  great  spirit  ;  but 
the  continued  stream  of  fire  from  the  whole  American  line 
was  even  more  destructive  than  before.     General  Howe  was 
in  the  hottest  of  it.     Two  of  his  aids,  and  other  officers  near 
him,  were  shot  down,  and  at  times  he  was  left  almost  alone. 
His  officers  were  seen  to  remonstrate  and  to  threaten,  and  even 
to  prick  and  strike  the  men  to  urge  them  on.     But  it  was  in 
vain.     The  British  were  compelled  again  to  give  way,  and 
they  retreated  even  in  greater  disorder  than  before." 

23.  The  third  time,  with  the  addition  of  some  fresh  troops, 


138 


The  War  of  the  Revolution. 


1775 


the  assault  was  ordered  ;  but  the  Americans,  having  expended 
every  grain  of  powder,  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  works. 
-P     .       Slowly  they  retreated  down  the  hill,  vanquished 
of         men,  yet  leaving  little  cause  for  triumph  to   the 
the  battle.  victorg>     On  botll  gides  many  fell  .  but  the  Amer 
icans  lost  one  whom  they  could  little  spare,  the  noble  pa 
triot,  and  brave  soldier,  Joseph  Warren.     Mrs.  John  Adams, 

in  writing  of  Warren  after  the 
battle,  said  :  "  We  want  him  in 
the  Senate,  we  want  him  in  his 
profession,  we  want  him  in  the 
field.  We  mourn  for  the  citizen, 
the  senator,  the  physician,  and 
the  warrior." 

24.  Though  the  British  were 
successful,  the  victory  to  them 
was  more  disastrous  and  humiliat 
ing  than  an  ordinary  defeat. 
"  Two  more  such  victories,"  said 
the  celebrated  statesman  at  the 
head  of  the  French  cabinet,  "  and 
England  will  have  no  army  left  in  America."  The  Ameri 
cans  were  not  discouraged.  They  felt  that  they  could  con 
tend  successfully  with  the  king's  troops,  however  skillful  and 
well-tried  these  were.  The  contest  proved  to  them  also  that 
the  Putnams,  Starks,  Prescotts  and  others,  who  had  been 
trained  in  the  school  of  the  "  French  and  Indian  Avar,"  had 
been  apt  scholars,  and  were  the  men  to  make  good  use  of 
their  training  and  experience.  The  sympathy  for  Massachu 
setts,  in  her  sufferings,  was  wide-spread  ;  but  no  where  was  it 
more  boldly  manifested  than  in  Virginia.  There  Patrick 
Henry's  voice,  with  its  thrilling  effect,  was  again  heard.  One 
of  his  speeches  is  thus  reported  : 

25.  "  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of 
those  means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our 
power.  Three  millions  of  people,  armed  in  the  holy  cause  of 


JOSEPH   WARKEN. 


1775   Washington  chosen  Commander-in-chief.      189 

liberty,  and   in   such  a  country  as   this  which  we   possess, 
are  invincible  by  any  force  which  our  enemy  can        The 
send  against  us.     Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight    necessity 
our  battles  alone.     There  is  a  just  God,  who  pre-   oftnewar< 
sides  over  the  destinies  of   nations,  and  who  will  raise  up 
friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.     The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone  :  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave. 
Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  election.     If  we  were  base  enough  to 
desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest.     There 
is  no  retreat  but  in  submission  and  slavery.     Our  chains  are 
forge.d.     Their  clanking  may  be  heard  on  the  plains  of  Bos 
ton.     The  war  is  inevitable — and  let  it  come  !     I  repeat  it, 
sir,  let  it  come.     *    *     *     I  know  not  what  course  others 
may  take  ;  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death." 

#6.  On  the  very  day  of  the  capture  of  Tifjonderoga,  the 
Second  Continental  Congress  met  in  Philadelphia.     Its  most 
important  duty  was  to  appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the 
patriot  forces.     "  This  was  a  task  of  more  delicacy 
and    difficulty  than  might  at  first  be  supposed,      chosen  M 
Many  considerations  were  to  be  weighed  besides  commander- 
the  personal  qualifications  of  any  individual  for 
that  high  station,  either  as  to  character,  abilities,  or  military 
skill.     While  the  discussions  were  going  on  respecting  mili 
tary  preparations,  John  Adams,  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Massachusetts,   moved  that  the    army,   then    besieging    the 
British  troops  in  Boston,  should  be  adopted  by  Congress  as  a 
Continental  army.     In  the  course  of  his  observations  enforc 
ing  this  motion,  he  said  it  was  his  intention  to  propose  for 
the  office  of  commander-in-chief  a  gentleman  from  Virginia, 
who  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  their  own  body.     His  re 
marks  were  so  pointed,  that  all  present  perceived  them  to 
apply  to  Colonel  Washington,  who,  upon  hearing  this  refer 
ence  to  himself,  retired  from  his  seat  and  withdrew. 

27.  When  the  day  for  the  appointment  arrived,  the  nomi 
nation  was  made  by  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Maryland.  The 
choice  was  by  ballot ;  and,  on  inspecting  the  votes,  it  was 


140  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1775 

found  that  Colonel  Washington  was  unanimously  elected. 
As  soon  as  the  result  was  ascertained  the  House  adjourned. 
On  the  convening  of  Congress  the  next  morning,  the  presi 
dent  communicated  to  him  the  notice  of  his  appointment,  and 
he  rose  in  his  place  and  signified  his  acceptance  in  a  brief 
and  appropriate  reply.  Before  the  election,  it  had  been  voted 
that  five  hundred  dollars  a  month  should  be  allowed  for  the 
pay  and  expenses  of  the  general.  On  this  point  Washington 
said  :  *  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the  Congress  that,  as  no  pecuni 
ary  consideration  could  have  tempted  me  to  accept  this  ardu 
ous  employment,  at  the  expense  of  my  domestic  ease  and  hap 
piness,  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit  from  it.  I  will  keep 
an  exact  account  of  my  expenses.  Those,  I  doubt  not,  they 
will  discharge  ;  and  that  is  all  I  desire/  ' 

28.  This  appointment  was  made  two  days  before  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill.     There  was  no  such  thing  as  communication 
by  telegraph  in  those  days,  and  it  took  a  week  to  travel  from 

Washin  ton  Boston  ^°  Philadelphia  by  the  quickest  mode  then 
takes  known.  Washington's  preparations  to  assume  the 
omman  .  comman(j  of  the  army  round  Boston,  were  soon 
made  ;  and,  with  Generals  Charles  Lee  and  Philip  Schuyler 
(ski'-ler)  as  his  companions,  he  set  out  on  horseback,  but  had 
scarcely  proceeded  twenty  miles  when  he  was  met  by  a  cou 
rier  with  tidings  of  the  great  battle  that  had  been  fought. 
Washington  eagerly  asked  for  particulars,  and  when  told  that 
the  militia  stood  their  ground  bravely,  exclaimed  :  "  The  lib 
erties  of  the  country  are  safe  !"  Under  an  ancient  elm  at 
Cambridge,  three  miles  from  Boston,  and  in  the  presence  of 
soldiers  drawn  up  in  line,  and  of  a  multitude  of  men,  wo 
men,  and  children,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  he  took 
formal  command  of  the  army. 

29.  To  prevent  the  British  from  using  Canada  as  a  base  of 

operations,    Congress   sent   an   expedition    under 

against     Schuyler  to  gain  possession  of  it.     Schuyler  had 

Canada.     reac}iec[    the    outlet    of   Lake    Champlain,    when 

sickness  compelling  his,  return,   General  Richard  Montgom- 


1775 


DeatTi  of  Montgomery. 


141 


ery,  the  next  officer,  assumed  the  command.  Montgomery 
soon  made  himself  master  of  Montreal  and  other  places  in 
Canada/  and  then  marched  against  Quebec,  where,  as  had 
been  arranged,  he  was  joined  by  General 
Benedict  Arnold,  who  had  proceeded  by 
the  Kennebec  river. 

30.  For  three  weeks  they  laid  siege  to 
the  city,  and  then  resolved  to  make  an  as 
sault.  On  the  last  day  of  the  year,  and 
during  a  fierce  snow  storm,  Deathof 
they  advanced  to  the  attack.  Montgomery. 
"  Push  on,  brave  boys,  Quebec  is  ours,' ' 
cried  Montgomery,  as  the  column  began 
to  move  up  the  ascent.  "  On  they  marched  to  within  forty 
paces  of  the  block-house.  At  that  moment,  a  sailor  who  had 
fled  from  his  post,  surprised  that  the  Americans  did  not  ad 
vance,  ventured  back  to  discover  the 
reason.  Through  one  of  the  port 
holes  of  the  block-house  he  saw  the 
advancing  party,  and  turned  to  run 
away  again  ;  but  as  he  turned,  lie 
performed  an  act  which  decided  the 
fortunes  of  the  day,  and  gave  Canada 
back  again  to  Britain.  He  touched 
off  one  of  those  grape-charged  can 
non.  Forward  fell  the  majestic  form 
of  Montgomery,  never  to  rise  again. 
Down  went  two  of  his  aids,  mortally  wounded.  The  or 
derly  sergeant,  too,  never  again  saw  daylight.  Every  man 
that  marched  in  front  of  the  column,  except  Captain  Aaron 
Burr  and  the  guide,  was  struck  down  to  death  by  the  dis 
charge  of  that  twelve-pounder.  The  day  was  just  dawning, 

1  St.  Johns,  on  the  Sorel  river,  was  besieged,  and  then  captured. 
During  the  siege  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  at  the  head  of  only  eighty  men, 
with  gseat  rashness  forcer!  his  way  to  Montreal,  but  was  defeated,  cap 
tured,  and  sent  to  England  in  irons. 


GENERAL   MONTGOMERY. 


142  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1776 

and  the  soldiers  were  soon  aware  of  the  whole  extent  of  the 
catastrophe.  The  column  halted  and  wavered.  *  *  The 
enemy  returned  to  the  block-house,  and  opened  fire  on  the  as 
sailants.  The  retreat  soon  became  a  precipitate  and  disor 
derly  retreat."  Arnold,  severely  wounded,  was  borne  from 
the  field  (Dec.  31,  1775.) 

31.  Meanwhile,  Washington  had  remained  with  his  army  ; 
and  Boston,  with  its  ten  thousand  troops  sent  to  subdue  the 
patriots,  was  as  a  besieged  city.     Finally,  he  resolved  to  drive 

Evacuation  the  enemy  away.  Accordingly,  he  ordered  forti- 
of  Boston,  fications  to  be  erected  on  Dorchester  Heights.  As 
these  commanded  the  city  and  the  Americans  could  not  be 
dislodged,  General  Howe,  Gage's  successor,  was  compelled  to 
withdraw  to  his  ships  (March  17,  1776)  ;  and,  accompanied 
by  a  large  number  of  loyal  families,  he  sailed  for  Halifax. 
Washington  entered  the  city  amid  the  rejoicings  of  the  peo 
ple,  who,  for  so  many  months,  had  endured  every  kind  of 
insult  and  indignity  from  the  British  soldiery. 1 

32.  Surmising  that  an  expedition  under  General  Clinton 
which  had  been  previously  sent  from  Boston,  was  destined 
for  the  capture  of  New  York,  Washington  sent  Lee  to  protect 

Ex  edition  ^at  c^'     ^  happened   that  on  the  very  day  of 

against     Lee's  arrival  there,  but  two  hours  after,  Clinton 

Charleston.  a]go  arrived?  and  anchored  in  the  harbor.     Thus 

foiled,  Clinton  sailed  to  the  south,  whence,  joined  by  a  fleet 
and  troops  from  England,  he  proceeded  against  Charleston. 

33.  The  people  of  Charleston  had  begun  to  make  prepara 
tions  against  an  attack  by  erecting  a  fort  on  Sullivan's  island 
at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.     "  This  was  built  of  logs,  laid 

"  No  little  excitement  was  produced  by  the  publication  in  Philadel 
phia  about  this  time  (Jan.  10)  of  'Common  Sense,'  a  pamphlet,  by 
Thomas  Paine,  a  recent  emigrant  from  England,  and  editor  of  the  Penn 
sylvania  Magazim.  This  pamphlet  argued,  in  that  plain  and  convincing 
style  for  which  Paine  was  so  distinguished,  the  folly  of  any  longer 
attempting  to  keep  up  the  British  connection,  and  the  absolute  necessity 
of  a  final  and  formal  separation.  Pitched  exactly  to  the  popular  tone, 
it  had  a  wide  circulation  throughout  the  colonies,  and  gave  H  powerful 
impulse  to  the  cause  of  independence," — Hddreth, 


1776 


CJiarleston  Saved. 


143 


one  upon  another  in  parallel  rows,  at  a  distance  of  sixteen 
feet,  bound  together   at   frequent  intervals  with   Charleston 
timber.     The  spaces  between  were  filled  up  with      saved, 
sand.     The  merlons  were  walled  entirely  by  palmetto  logs, 
notched  into  one  another 
at  tho  angles.     Such  was 
the   plan    of    the   work, 
but,  with  all  the  diligence 
of    the   officers,    and   all 
the  industry  of  the  men, 
it    was    still    unfinished 
at  the   perilous  moment 
when  the  powerful  Brit 
ish  fleet  appeared  before 
its   walls.      The   defense 
was  confided  to  Colonel 
Moultrie  (moll'-tre). 

34.  On  the  20th  of 
June,  1776,  a  day  ever 
memorable  in  the  annals 
of  Carolina,  the  enemy's  ships  of  war,  nine  in  number, 
commanded  by  Sir  Peter  Parker,  drew  up  abreast  of  the 
fort,  let  go  their  anchors,  and  commenced  a  terrible  bom 
bardment.  The  famous  battle  which  followed  makes  one 
of  the  brightest  pages  in  our  history.  The  garrison  fought 
with  a  coolness  which  would  have  done  honor  to  veterans. 
The  day  was  very  warm,  and  the  men  partially  stripped  to  it. 
In  the  hottest  of  the  fire,  the  flag  of  the  fort  was  shot  away. 
It  fell  outside  the  works.  Sergeant  Jasper,  one  of  Marion's 
men  (See  p.  167),  instantly  sprung  after  it  upon  the  beach, 
and  binding  it  to  a  sponge-staff,  restored  it  to  its  place,  and 


Ticnrrrror 
CHARLESTON 


succeeded  in  gaining  his  own  place  a 


•lain  in 


safety.     Tradi 


tion  ascribes  to  the  hand  and  eye  of  Marion,  the  terrible  effect 
of  the  last  shot  which  was  fired.  It  was  aimed  at  the  com 
modore's  ship,  which  hud  already  received  something  more 
than  her  due  share  of  the  attention  from  the  fort.  This 


144  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1776 

shot,  penetrating  the  cabin  of  the  vessel,  cut  down  two  young: 
officers,  who  were  drinking,  we  may  suppose,  to  their  for 
tunate  escape  from  a  conflict  which  seemed  already  over.  It 
then  ranged  forward,  swept  three  sailors  from  the  main  deck, 
and  finally  buried  itself  into  the  bosom  of  the  sea."  The 
ships,  in  a  disabled  condition,  were  compelled  to  retire  ;  and 
the  victory  of  the  Americans  was  complete.  "  Moultrie  re 
ceived  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  the  fort  was  thenceforth 
called  by  his  name." 

35.  The  time  was  now  ripe  for  the  consideration  by  Con 
gress  of  the  great  question  of  independence.  The  people,  at 
first  opposed  to  a  separation  from  the  "  mother  country,"  as 

Birth  of  England  was  still  affectionately  termed,  had  dis- 
the  nation.  cusse<}  the  question  in  the  newspapers,  in  numer 
ous  pamphlets,  in  public  meetings,  and  in  letters.  ''  There 
had  been  a  time  when  loyalty  to  the  British  crown  was  the 
distinguishing  trait  of  the  colonists,  when  every  address  and 
every  petition  showed  their  real  regard  for  the  young  mon 
arch,  when  no  one  would  believe  that  the  occupant  of  the 
throne  was  the  chief  cause  of  all  their  misery  and  that  it  was 
a  mad  and  cruel  king  who  had  invoked  the  horrors  of  war 
upon  his  people.  But  the  swift  course  of  events  had  roused 
the  people  and  driven  them  on  before  even  their  leaders. 
They  had  discovered  that  their  chief  enemy  was  their  king." 

30,  On  the  7th  of  June,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  A^irginia, 
offered  a  resolution  in  Congress,  declaring  "  That  these 
United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  inde 
pendent  States."  The  debate  that  ensued  was  long  and  ani 
mated,  for  all  the  members  were  not  as  yet  quite  prepared 
for  a  measure  so  decisive.  At  length,  on  the  3d  of  July,  the 
resolution  was  passed  ;  but  "  of  the  proceedings  of  Congress 
upon  this  eventful  day  no  record  has  been  preserved.  We 
are  better  acquainted  with  the  speeches  delivered  in  the  Ro 
man  Senate  and  the  Roman  Forum  than  with  the  grand  dis 
cussion  of  the  principles  of  liberty  and  progress  which  was  so 
thoroughly  and  so  fearlessly  carried  on,"  The  resolution 


1776 


The  Fathers  of  the  Declaration. 


145 


having  passed,  "  the  immortal  state  paper,  the  genuine  effu 
sion  of  the  soul  of  the  country/'  THE  DECLARATION  OF  IN- 
DEPENDENCE,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Thomas  Jefferson, 
of  Virginia,  in  behalf  of  a  committee  previously  appointed, 
was  ready  for  adoption. 


The 
fathers 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL. 

37.  "  In  a  plain  room  were  assembled  somewhat  less  than 
fifty  persons,  to  consider  a  paper  prepared  by  a  young  Vir 
ginia  lawyer,  giving  reasons  for  the  resolve  which  had  been 
adopted  two  days  before. 1  They  were  farmers, 
planters,  lawyers,  physicians,  surveyors  of  land, 

with    one   eminent    Presbyterian    clergyman.     A       of  the 

...         .     .,  ,     ,     , J  ,         ,  °J  T    Declaration, 

majority  of    them  had    been    educated    at    such 

schools,  or  primitive  colleges,  as  then  existed  on  this  conti 
nent  ;  while  a  few  had  enjoyed  the  rare  advantage  of  training 

1  The  old  State  House,  in  Philadelphia,  where  Congress  met,  is  still 
standing.  In  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of  Independence  Hall, 
though  the  room  in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted 
and  signed  received  at  first  that  appellation.  The  building  was  erected 
in  1735,  but  its  bell-tower  was  not  put  up  until  1750.  A  bell  which  was 
imported  from  England  expressly  for  the  tower,  was  found  cracked 
upon  its  arrival,  and  thereupon  it  was  recast  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  raised  to  its  place  in  1753.  By  a  curious  coincidence,  it  bore  around 
its  crown  the  words  :  Proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof.  It  has  a  world- wide  reputation  as  the  "Liberty 


146  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1776 

abroad,  and  of  foreign  travel.  But  a  considerable  number, 
perhaps  twenty  in  all,  and  among  them  some  of  the  most  in 
fluential,  had  received  no  other  education  than  that  which 
they  had  gained  by  diligent  reading  while  at  their  trades  or 
on  their  farms. 

38.  The  figure  to  which  our  thoughts  turn  first  is  that  of 
the  author  of  the  careful  paper  on  the  details  of  which  the 
discussion  turned.     It  has  no  special  majesty  or  charm.     The 
slight,  tall  frame,  the  sun-burned  face,  the  gray  eyes  spotted 
with  hazel,  the  red  hair  which  crowns  the  head  ;  but  al 
ready,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  the  man  has  impressed  him 
self  on  his  associates  as  a  master  of  principles,  and  of  the  lan 
guage  in  which  those  principles  find  their  expression,  so  that 
his  colleagues  have  left  to  him,  almost  wholly,  the  work  of 
preparing  the  important  declaration.     He  wants  readiness  in 
debate,  and  so  is  now  silent ;  but  he  listens  eagerly  to  the 
vigorous  argument  and  the  forcible  appeals  of   one  of   his 
associates  on    the  committee,  Mr.  John  Adams.     Now  and 
then  he  speaks  with  another  of  the  committee,  much  older  than 
himself,  a  stout  man,  with  a  friendly  face,  in  a  plain  dress, 
whom  the  world  had  already  heard  something  of  as  Benja 
min  Franklin. 

39.  These  three  are,  perhaps,  most  prominently  before  us 

as  we  recall  the  vanished  scene, 
though  others  were  there  of  fine 
presence  and  cultivated  manners  ; 
and  though  all  impress  us  as  sub 
stantial  representative  men,  how 
ever  harsh  the  features  of  some, 
however  brawny  their  hands  with 
labor.  But,  certainly,  nothing 
could  be  more  unpretending,  more 
destitute  of  pictorial  charm,  than 
JOHN  HANCOCK.  that  small  assembly  of  persons  for 

the  most  part  quite  unknown  to  previous  fame." 

40.  While  we  know  that  John  Adams  was  "  the  colossus  of 


1776  Effect  of  the  Declaration.  147 

the  debate,"  yet  we  have  no  report  whatever  of  his  speeches. 
Still  we  can  suppose,  *  with  Daniel  Webster,  that  he  said  : 
"  Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  Adams's 
give  my  hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote.  It  is  speech, 
true,  indeed,  that  in  the  beginning  we  aimed  not  at  indepen 
dence.  But  '  there's  a  Divinity  which  shapes  our  ends. '  The 
injustice  of  England  has  driven  us  to  arms  ;  and,  blinded  to 
her  own  interest  for  our  good,  she  has  obstinately  persisted, 
till  independence  is  now  within  our  grasp.  We  have  but  to 
reach  forth  to  it,  and  it  is  ours.  Why,  then,  should  we  de 
fer  the  Declaration  ?" 

41.  On  that  day,  July  the  4th,  1776,  the  Declaration  was 

adopted.     The  thirteen    colonies   were 
thenceforth  no  longer  colonies.     They 
were  States  ;  and  the  United      Effect 
States  were  a  nation.     The       of  the 
people  rejoiced.     The  Dec-  Declaration- 
laration  was   read  to  the  army  amidst 
exulting   shouts.     It    was  read   in  the 
open    air   before    large    and  rapturous 
gatherings  of  men.     There  were   bon 
fires  and  illuminations.     "  The  people 
of  the  United  States  of  America  were 

LIBERTY  BELL.  On6   people.  " 

42.  It  was  evident  to  Washington  that  the  British  had  de 
signs  against  New   York.     As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  safety 
of  Boston  was  secured,  he  hastened  to  that  city,  and  stationed 
the  greater  part  of  his  army  at  Brooklyn   for  its   defense. 
The   forces   of   the   enemy,   exceeding    thirty   thousand   in 

1  This  is  but  a  smill  part  of  the  supposed  speech.     Adams  and  Jeffer 
son  died  July  4th,  1826,  just  fifty  years  after  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence.      Webster's  eulogy,  in  which  the  supposed  speech  occurs, 
was  delivered  soon  after  then-  death. 

2  When  the  members  were  about  to  sign  the  Declaration,  Mr.  Hancock, 
the  president  of  Congress,  is  reported  to  have  said  :  "  We  must  be  un 
animous  ;  there  must  be  no  pulling  different  way  ;  we  must  all  hang 
together."     To  which  Franklin  replied:    "  Yes,  we  must,   indeed,  all 
hang  together,  or?  most  assuredly,  we  shall  all  hang  separately," 


148 


The  War  of  tlie  devolution. 


1776 


number, '  were  being  collected  at  Staten  Island.     At  length, 
The        after  days   of  suspense  in 

battle  of    the   American    camp,   the 
Long  Island.  Britishj      commanded      by 

Howe,  crossed  to  Long  Island,  and 
marched  in  three  divisions.  Two  of 
the  divisions  attacked  the  Americans 
in  front,  while  the  third  marched 
round  and  fell  on  their  rear.  The  pa 
triots  fought  bravely,  but  without 
avail.  Some  cut  their  way  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
but  many  were  killed,  or  taken  prisoners  (Aug.  27,  1776). 

43.  This  was  a  sad  disaster  to  the  patriots.     Its    effects 
were  seen  not  only  in  the  blight  it  gave  to  the  cause,  in  de 
ciding  the  wavering  to  join  the  royal  standard,  and  in  thin 
ning  the  ranks  of  Washington's  army,  but  in  giving  form 
and  direction  to  all  the  subsequent  events  of  the  war,  and  in 
making  the  war  itself  more  defensive  than  it  otherwise  would 
have  been.     The  result  of  the  battle  gave  Ne\v,  York  city  to 
the  British,  and  this  possession  they  retained  till  the  end  of 
the  war.     From  it  they  sent  out  expeditions  against  Connec 
ticut,  against   posts  and   towns  on   the   Hudson  river,  and 
against  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  even  Virginia. 

44.  Favored  by  a  fog,   Washington,   by  a  skillful  move 
ment,  succeeded  in  getting  his  shattered  force  across  the  river 

Retreat  of  to  New  York.2  "  A  tradition  tells  how  the  Brit- 
Washington,  igh  camp  became  aware  of  the  march  that  had 
been  stolen  upon  it.  Near  the  ferry  resided  a  lady  whose  hus- 

1  Many  of  the  enemy's  soldiers  were  hired  by  the  king.     They  were 
called  Hessians,  because  the  most  of  them  had  been  furnished,  at  a  cer 
tain  price  for  each  person,  by  the  landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  in  Germany. 

2  "  This  extraordinary  retreat  of  the  Americans  across  the  river  to  New 
York,  which,  in  its  silence  and  celerity,  equaled  the  midnight  fortifying 
of  Bunker  (Breed's)  Hill,  was  one  of  the  most  signal  achievements  of 
the  war,  and  redounded  greatly  to  the  reputation  of  Washington,  who, 
we  are  told,  for  forty-eight  hours  preceding  the  safe  extrication  of  his 
army  from  their  perilous  situation,  scarcely  ^closed  his  eyes,  and  was  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  on  horseback," — Irmng's  Life  of  Washington, 


1776  Execution  of  Nathan  Hale.  149 

band,  suspected  of  favoring  the  British,  had  been  removed  to 
the  interior  of  New  Jersey.  On  seeing  the  embarkation  of 
the  first  detachment  of  the  American  army,  she,  out  of  loy 
alty  or  revenge,  sent  off  a  black  servant  to  inform  the  first 
British  officer  he  could  find,  of  what  was  going  on.  The 
negro  succeeded  in  passing  the  American  sentinels,  but  ar 
rived  at  a  Hessian  outpost,  where,  not  being  able  to  make 
himself  understood,  he  was  put  under  guard  as  a  suspicious 
person.  There  he  was  kept  until  about  daybreak,  when  an 
officer  visiting  the  post  examined  him,  and  was  astounded  by 
his  story.  An  alarm  was  at  once  given,  and  the  troops  were 
called  to  arms  ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  rear  boats  of  the 
retreating  army  were  halfway  across  the  river."  Washington 
continued  his  retreat  northward,  and  at  White  Plains  a  par 
tial  engagement  took  place.  Fort  Washington,  garrisoned  by 
a  large  force,  made  a  good  defense,  but  both  it  and  Fort  Lee, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Hudson,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  ;  and  Washington,  followed  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  re 
treated  through  New  Jersey  and  across  the  Delaware. 

45.  Before  abandoning  New  York  and  while  Howe's  army 
was  at  Brooklyn,  Washington  sent  Captain  Nathan  Hale  to 
the  British  camp  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  condition  of 
the  enemy.     On  his  return,  he  was  captured,  and    Execution 
taken  before  Howe,  who,  without  even  the  form     of  Hale, 
of   a   trial,    ordered   him    to   be   hung   the   next   morning. 
"  Hale  calmly  requested  that  he  might    be  furnished  with 
writing  materials  and  a  light.     He  wanted,  he  said,  to  ad 
dress  a  few  lines  to  his  parents  and  friends.     The  request 
was  brutally  refused.     He  asked  for  a  Bible.     This  request, 
too,  met  with  a  coarse  denial.     But  there  was  one  heart  near, 
which,  for  a  moment,  throbbed  with  pity  for  the  prisoner — 
so  young,  so  treated,  yet  so  mild,  so  firm,  so  soon  to  die,  and 
— alone  !     Moved,  in  spite  of  himself,  the  young  lieutenant  of 
Halo's  guard  interfered  in  his  behalf,  and  was  so  far  success 
ful  as  to  procure  for  him  the  privilege  of  writing. 

46.  With  pen,  ink,  paper,  and  a  light,  he  was  thrust  at  night 


150 


TJie  War  of  tlie  Revolution. 


1776 


into  some  desolate  chamber,  or  grated  cell,  and,  for  awhile, 
was  left  to  himself.  *  *  *  What  a  night  to  Hale  !  *  *  * 
It  was  morning, — morning,  too,  of  the  hallowed  day  ;  but 
war  knows  no  Sabbaths.  The  fatal  hour  had  come.  Hale 
handed  the  letters  he  had  written  to  the  marshal  for  delivery. 
The  marshal  examined  them,  and,  as  he  read,  grew  furious  at 
the  noble  spirit  which  breathed  in  every  line  of  the  compo 
sition  ;  and,  for  the  reason  afterwards  given  by  himself,  tore 
the  letters  into  shreds,  '  that  the  rebels  should  never  know 
they  had  a  man  who  could  die  with  such  firmness.'  Early 
morning  as  it  was,  yet  quite  a  crowd  was  collected  around 
the  place  of  execution.  But  in  all  that  crowd  there  was  not 
one  face  familiar  to  the  prisoner,  not  one  friend  to  whisper  a 
word  of  consolation.  With  a  voice,  full,  distinct,  and  slow, 
in  words  which  patriotism  will  forever  enshrine,  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  tightening  cord  was  to  crush  the  life  from 
his  young  body  forever,  Hale  exclaimed  :  *  I  only  regret  that 
I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country.'  ' 

47.  A  deep  gloom  at  this  time  pervaded  all  classes  of  the 
Americans.     "  Thus  far  their  army  had  met  with  nothing 
but  defeat,  retreat,  sacrifice,  hardship,  and  discouragement." 
Battle      Many  of  the  patriots  saw  no  other  prospect  than  a 
of  Trenton,  complete  failure  of  their  treasured  scheme  of  lib 
erty.     But  Washington,  who  with  the  remnant  of  Kis  army, 

had  taken  a  position  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Delaware,  was  still 
hopeful.  To  strike  a  blow  that 
would  raise  the  spirits  of  his 
countrymen  was  now  his  determi 
nation.  "  The  opportunity  came. 
The  British  delayed  crossing  the 
river,  and  divided  their  force 
among  different  posts  throughout 
New  Jersey.  At  Trenton  they 
stationed  a  body  twelve  hundred  strong,  composed  chiefly  of 
Hessians.  Washington  resolved  to  make  a  sudden  dash  upon 


1776  Battle  of  Trenton.  151 

this  detachment.  A  surprise,  an  irresistible  attack,  the  cap 
ture  of  a  post  with  a  thousand  men,  might  work  wonders 
in  their  moral  effect.  The  soldiers  with  him  were  trusty 
men,  twenty-four  hundred  of  whom  he  proposed  to  lead  him 
self  in  this  enterprise. 

48.  The  night  of:  the  25th  of  December  brought  storm, 
snow,  and  sleet,  but  Washington  was  determined  on  the  at 
tempt.     He  called  upon  Glover's  men  to  man  the  boats  ;  and 
these  amphibious   soldiers,  who  had  transported  the  army  on 
the  retreat  from  Long  Island,    were  ready  again  to   strain 
every  nerve  for  the  plans  of  their  chief.     It  was  a  long,  tedi 
ous  night  as  they  pushed  across  the  Delaware,  through  float 
ing  ice  and  chilling  spray,  and  it  was  not  till  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  that  the  force  was  ready  to  take  up  the  march 
on  the  Jersey  side.     Trenton  was  nine  miles  distant  ;  and 
not  to  be  reached  before  daylight.     To  surprise  it  was  sup 
posed  to  be  out  of  the  question,  but  a  return  Avas  not  to  be 
thought  of.     It  began  to  hail  and  snow  as  the  troops  com 
menced  their  march,  and  increased  in  violence  as  they  ad 
vanced,  the  storm  driving  the  sleet  in  their  faces.     At  eight 
o'clock  the  enemy's  outposts  were  reached.     Our  troops,  sur 
prising  their  outguards,  dashed  after  them  '  pell-mell '  into 
Trenton,  gave  the  enemy  no  time  to  form,  cleared  the  streets 
with  cannon  and  howitzers  '  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye/  dis 
lodged  the  Hessians  from  the  houses,  drove  them  beyond  into 
a  plain,  surrounded  them,  and  finally  compelled  them  to  sur 
render.     A  fine  and  remarkable  exploit  !     The  turning-point 
of  the  campaign — if  not,  indeed,  the  decisive  stroke  of  the 
war."     "  That  victory,"  writes  Bancroft,  "  turned  the  shad 
ow  of  death  into  the  morning  (Dec.  26,  1776)."  * 

49.  This  bold  and  successful    stroke  went  far  to  restore 
confidence,  but  Washington's  army  at  this  time  scarcely  ex- 


1  Nearly  a  thousand  prisoners  were  taken.  Generals  Greene,  Sullivan, 
and  Colonel  Stark  distinguished  themselves  in  the  battle.  Rahl,  the 
Hessian  commander,  mortally  wounded,  was  conveyed  to  the  house  of  a 
Quaker  family,  where  Washington  and  Greene  visited  the  dying  man. 


152  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1777 

ceeded  five  thousand  men.  With  this  meager  force  he  was  soon 
Battle  confronted  at  Trenton  by  a  large  body  of  troops 
of  Princeton,  under  Cornwallis.  Escape  seemed  impossible,  for 
the  river  was  filled  with  floating  ice  ,  and  to  risk  a  battle  with 
a  force  so  much  superior,  seemed  full  of  peril.  Knowing 
that  several  regiments  of  the  enemy  were  at  Princeton  to 
join  Cornwallis,  he  quickly  broke  up  his  camp  during  the 
night,  leaving  the  fires  burning  so  as  to  deceive  the  British, 
and  rapidly  marched  towards  that  place.  At  sunrise,  the  van 
of  his  forces  met,  near  Princeton,  the  British  regiments  al 
ready  on  the  march.  At  first  the  American  militia  gave 
way  ;  but  Washington,  coming  up  with  a  select  corps,  turned 
the  tide  of  battle  and  routed  the  enemy.  The  British  loss 
was  severe  :  that  of  the  Americans,  though  not  so  great,  in 
cluded  one  of  their  best  officers,  the  brave  General  Mercer 
(Jan.  3,  1777).  After  this  victory,  Washington  retired  to  the 
heights  of  Morristown,  where  he  took  up  his  quarters  for  the 
rest  of  the  winter. 

50.  Among  the  men  of  Washington's  army,  "  there  was 

one,  a  young  and  gallant  stranger,  who  had  left  the  blushing 

vine-hills  of  his  delightful  France.     The    people  whom  he 

came  to  succor  were  not  his  people  :    he    knew 

joins  the  them  only  in  the  melancholy  story  of  their  wrongs. 
Americans.  jje  wag  no  mercenary  wretch,  striving  for  the  spoil 

of  the  vanquished  :  the  palace  acknowledged  him  for  its 
lord,  and  the  valleys  yielded  him  their  increase.  He  was  no 
nameless  man,  staking  life  for  reputation  :  he  ranked  among 
nobles,  and  looked  unawed  upon  kings.  He  was  no  friend 
less  outcast,  seeking  for  a  grave  to  hide  his  cold  heart  :  he 
was  girdled  by  the  companions  of  his  childhood,  his  kinsmen 
were  about  him,  his  wife  was  before  him.  Yet,  from  all 
these  he  turned  away  and  came.  Like  a  lofty  tree,  that 
shakes  down  its  green  glories  to  battle  with  the  winter's 
storm,  he  flung  aside  the  trappings  of  place  and  pride,  to 
crusade  for  Freedom,  in  Freedom's  holy  land.  He  came  ; 
but  not  in  the  day  of  successful  rebellion  ;  not  when  the 


1777          Expedition  against  Philadelphia.  153 

new-risen  sun  of  Independence  had  burst  the  cloud  of  time, 
and  careered  to  its  place  in  the  heavens.  He  came  when 
darkness  curtained  the  hills,  and  the  tempest  was  abroad  in 
its  anger  ;  when  the  plow  stood  still  in  the  field  of  promise, 
and  briers  cumbered  the  garden  of  beauty  ;  when  fathers 
were  dying,  and  mothers  were  weeping  over  them  ;  when  the 
wife  was  binding  up  the  gashed  bosom  of  her  husband,  and 
the  maiden  was  wiping  the  death-damp  from  the  brow  of  her 
lover.  He  came  when  the  brave  began  to  fear  the  power  of 
man,  and  the  pious  to  doubt  the  favor  of  God.  It  was  then 
that  this  one  joined  the  ranks  of  a  revolted  people." 
S^  51.  In  vain  did  Howe,  on  the  opening  of  Spring,  strive  to 
'draw  Washington  into  a  general  engagement.  All  his  man 
euvers  were  frustrated  by  the  cautious  skill  and  watchful 
prudence  of  the  American  commander.  On  Expedit.ion 
this  account  Washington  was  called  the  American  against 
Fa'-bi-us,  from  the  resemblance  of  his  policy  to 
that  of  the  celebrated  Roman  general,  who,  contending  with 
Hannibal,  avoided  engagements,  and  harassed  him  by  con 
tinued  delay.  Howe,  baffled  in  his  attempts,  and  "  aware 
of  the  madness  of  trying  to  march  to  the  Delaware  against 
Philadelphia,  through  a  hostile  country,  with  sucli  force  on 
his  rear,"  withdrew  his  troops  to  Staten  Island.  Thence, 
embarking  on  board  the  fleet  of  his  brother,  Lord  Howe, 
he  sailed  to  the  Chesapeake  and  landed  at  the  head  of  the 
bay.  The  destination  of  the  fleet  being  unknown  to  Wash 
ington,  he  remained  for  several  days  in  painful  uncertainty 
about  it.  When,  at  length,  the  mystery  was  solved,  he 
marched  to  the  Brandy  wine,  determined  to  make  a  stand  for 
the  defense  of  Philadelphia. 

52.  Here,  at  Chad's  Ford,  Brandy  wine  creek,  a  battle  was 
fought  (Sept.  11)  ;  but  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy, 
aided  by  a  stratagem  secretly  conducted,  gave  them  the  vic 
tory.  A  large  part  of  their  army  made  a  circuit  of  several 
miles,  crossed  the  creek  above  the  ford,  and  while  the 
Americans  were  attacked  in  front,  marched  round  in  the 


154 


The  War  of  the  Revolution. 


1777 


rear   as  at  the  battle   of  Long  Island.     The  patriots   were 
routed,    notwithstanding    the    efforts    and    valor     of    their 

officers,  among  whom  were  Lafa 
yette  and  Pulaski. 1  The  British 
soon  after  entered  Philadelphia, 
in  spite  of  the  exertions  of  Wash 
ington  to  save  it ; 2  but  the 
greater  part  of  their  troops  were 
quartered  in  and  about  the  vil 
lage  of  Germantown — then  a 
suburb  of  Philadelphia,  now  a 
part  of  the  city, — to  guard  their 
new  possession.  Howe's  expedi 
tion  had  been  rewarded  with  success  and  the  British  were 
elated;  but  the  patriots  saw  that  if  Howe  meant  to  hold 
Philadelphia  he  had  not  force  enough  to  do  much  else. 
Said  Franklin,  who  had  been  sent  to  France  to  solicit  aid 
for  the  Americans,  and  who  was  at  Paris  when  the  news  of 
the  disaster  reached  him  :  "  It  is  not  General  Howe  that  has 
taken  Philadelphia,  it  is  Philadelphia  that  has  taken  General 
Howe." 

53.  So  little  were  the  Americans  disheartened  by  their  late 
reverses  that  in  a  few  days  Washington  resolved  to  attack  the 
enemy  at  Germantown.  Accordingly,  at  sunrise,  on  the 
Battle  of  4th  of  October,  the  English  were  unexpectedly 
Germantown.  greeted  by  a  charge  from  a  strong  force.  It  was 
a  complete  surprise  ;  and,  at  first,  the  success  was  complete. 

1  Early  in  1776,  Congress  sent  Silas  Deane  to  France,  to  solicit  aid. 
He  was  afterwards  joined  by  Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee.     While  France 
could  at  that  time  give  no  assistance  openly  to  the  Americans,  without 
incurring  the  hostility  of  Great  Britain,  she  secretly  sent  them  supplies 
of  monev,  arms,  provisions,  and  clothing.     The  Count  Pulaski  was  a  dis 
tinguished.  Polish  nobleman,  who  had  previously  joined  the  American 
army  as  a  volunteer  soldier  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

2  While  the  British  were  on  their  march  to  Philadelphia,  Washington 
gave  pursuit.     The  two  armies  met,  and  were  on  the  point  of  engaging 
when  a  violent  rain-storm  prevented.     Four  days  after,  General  Wayne, 
who  had  been  sent  by  Washington  to  capture  the  enemy's  baggage  train, 
was  surprised  at  Paoli,  by  a  mklnieht  attack,  and  defeated  with  great 
loss  (Sept.  20.). 


1777-8       The  Dark  Hour  at  Valley  Forge.  155 

But  a  dense  fog,  which  had  rendered  the  surprise  possible, 
finally  frustrated  the  plans  of  Washington,  who,  seeing  that 
the  day  was  lost,  ordered  a  retreat.  During  the  following 
month  the  forts  on  the  Delaware  surrendered  to  the  British, 
though  not  till  after  the  assailants  had  suffered  a  severe  re 
pulse  ;  and  thus  the  approaches  to  Philadelphia  were  free  to 
Lord  Howe's  fleet. 

54.  "  During  the  winter  of  1777-8,  Washington  went  into 
winter  quarters  at  Yalley  Forge.     What  a  terrible  time  it 
was  for  the  hopes  of  America  !     Women  who  had  once  melt 
ed  their  pewter  plates  into  bullets  could  not  do  it 

a  second  time.  Here,  within  a  day's  march  of  army  at 
the  enemy's  headquarters,  there  were  not  twelve  ValleyFor&e- 
thousand  soldiers.  That  winter  they  lay  on  the  ground.  So 
scarce  were  blankets  that  many  were  forced  to  sit  up  all 
night  by  their  fires.  At  one  time,  more  than  a  thousand 
soldiers  had  not  a  shoe  to  their  feet.  We  could  trace  their 
jmarch  by  the  blood  which  their  naked  feet  left  in  the  ice." 

55.  "  Out  of  the  cold  white  snow  rose  the  leafless  forests, 
:dark  and  spectral  ;  and  the  wind  swept  in  fierce  gusts  down 
jthe  valley,  or  sighed  and  moaned  around  the  thatched  roofs  of 
the  huts.     From  the  huts  themselves  came   few 

signs  of  life,  but  the  smoke  that  swayed  to  and 


fro  over  the  chimneys  at  the  will  of  the  blast,  and  at 
the  shivering  sentinels  at  the  officers'  doors,  and 
now  and  then,  as  you  passed  along,  a  half-naked  soldier  peer 
ing  from  a  door,  and  muttering,  in  an  ominous  undertone, 
(  No  bread,  no  soldier.  '  If  you  ventured  within,  hungry 
(nakedness  met  you  on  the  threshold.  In  the  streets,  you 
'would  meet  parties  of  soldiers  yoked  together  to  little  car 
riages  of  their  own  contriving,  and  dragging  their  wood  and 
'provisions  from  the  storehouse  to  their  huts.  .  .  .  Them 
were  regular  parades,  too,  at  guard-mounting  ;  and  sometimes 
grand  parades,  in  which  you  would  see  men  half  naked  hold- 
ling  their  rusty  firelocks  with  hands  stiffened  with  cold,  and 
officers  shielding  themselves  from  the  cold  in  a  kind  of  dress 
ing-gown  made  out  of  an  old  blanket  or  faded  bed-quilt." 


156 


The  War  of  the  Revolution. 


1777 


56.  Meanwhile,  stirring  events  had  occurred  in  the  north. 
With  the  design  of  separating  New 
England    from    the   rest    of     the 

Burgoyne's  Union,  by  taking   pos- 

invasion.  session  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  the  valley  of  the  Hud 
son,  General  Burgoyne  (bur-goiri), 
commanding  an  army  of  ten  thou 
sand  British  and  German  troops, 
Canadians  and  Indians,  had  moved 
from  Canada  and  invaded  New 
York.  Having  captured  two  forts 
on  Lake  Champlain — Crown  Point 
and  Ticonderoga  J — he  advanced 
southward  ;  but  his  march  was  slow 
and  difficult,  for  General  Schuyler, 
the  commander  of  the  American 
forces,  had  obstructed  his  way  by 
destroying  the  bridges  and  felling 
immense  trees  across  the  roads. 
Burgoyne  had  previously  sent  Col 
onel  St.  Leger  against  Fort  Schuy 
ler,  formerly  called  Fort  Stanwix, 
on  the  Mohawk.  Finding  the  fort 
resolutely  defended  by  Colonel 
Gansevoort,  St.  Leger,  with  his 


/MASS. 


motley  force  of  royalists  and  Indians,  commenced  a  siege. 
Two  days  later,  General  Herkimer,  while  advancing  to  the 
relief  of  the  place  with  a  body  of  militia,  fell  into  an  ambus 
cade  at  O-ris'-ka-ny,  was  defeated,  and  mortally  wounded. 

General  St.  Glair  was  in  command  at  Ticonderoga.  He  had  deter 
mined  upon  a  resolute  defense,  but  discovering  to  his  dismay,  that  the 
British  had  erected  batteries  on  Mount  Defiance,  a  rocky  height  com 
manding  the  fort,  he  made  a  hasty  retreat.  His  army  crossed  over  to 
Vermont,  but  at  Hubbardton  was  overtaken  and  routed.  The  ammu 
nition  and  stores,  which  had  Ix'cu  s;;nt  by  water,  were  also  overtaken 
and  were  destroyed. 


1777  Arnold  relieves  Fort  Schuyler.  157 


Schuyler,  upon  hearing  that  Gansevoort  was  so  closely  pressed, 
sent  a  detachment  under  Arnold  to  his  aid. 

57.  "  Conscious  of  the  smallness  of  his  force  Arnold  re 
sorted  to  stratagem,  sending  emissaries  ahead  to  spread  exag 
gerated  reports  of  the  number  of  his  troops,  so  as  to  work 
an  the  fears  of  the  enemy's  Indian  allies,  and  in 
duce  them   to  desert.     The  most   important  of    strttagemto 

these  emissaries  was  an  ec-        relieve 

Fort  Schuyler. 
centric  half-witted  fellow, 

known  throughout  the  country  as  a 
rank  tory.  He  had  been  convicted  as 
a  spy,  and  only  spared  from  the  hal 
ter  on  condition  that  he  would  go  into 
St.  Leger's  camp,  and  spread  alarm 
ing  reports  among  the  Indians,  by 
whom  he  was  well  known.  To  insure 
a  faithful  discharge  of  his  mission,  Arnold  detained  his  broth 
er  as  a  hostage.  All  this  while  St.  Leger  was  pressing  the 
siege,  but  his  Indian  allies  were  growing  sullen  and  intracta 
ble.  This  slow  kind  of  warfare,  this  war  with  the  spade,  they 
were  unaccustomed  to,  and  they  by  no  means  relished  it. 
They  had  been  led  to  expect  easy  times,  little  fighting,  many 
scalps,  and  much  plunder. 

58.  At  this  juncture,  scouts  brought  word  that  a  force  one 
thousand  strong  was    marching    to   the  relief  of  the   fort. 
Rumors  soon  stole  into  the  camp  doubling  the  number  of  the 
approaching  enemy.     Burgoyne's  whole    army  was    said  to 
have  been  defeated.     Lastly  came  the  half-witted  fellow,  with 
his  coat  full  of  bullet  holes,  giving  out  that  he  had  escaped 
from  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  and  been  fired  upon  by 
them.     His  story  was  believed,  for  his  wounded  coat  corrobo 
rated  it,  and  he  was  known  to  be  a  royalist.     Mingling  among 
his  old  acquaintances,  the  Indians,  he  assured  them  that  the 
Americans  were  close  at  hand,  and  '  numerous  as  the  leaves 
on  the  trees.'     Arnold's  stratagem  succeeded.     The  Indians, 
fickle  as  the  wind,  began  to  desert.     In  a   little  while  two 


158  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1777 

hundred  decamped,  and  the  rest  threatened  to  do  so  like 
wise,  unless  St.  Leger  retreated.  The  unfortunate  colonel 
found  too  late  what  little  reliance  was  to  be  placed  upon  In 
dian  allies.  He  was  at  length  obliged  to  decamp  in  such 
hurry  and  confusion  that  he  left  his  tents  standing  ;  and  his 
artillery,  with  most  of  his  baggage,  ammunition,  and  stores, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans." 

59.  When    Burgoyne   arrived    at    Fort    Edward,    finding 
himself  in  want  of  supplies,  he  sent  Colonel  Baum  (bowni) 
to  seize   a  quantity  which  the  Americans  had  collected  at 

Battle  of  Bennington.  Baum  was  met  by  the  New  Hamp- 
Bennington.  sh.ire  militia,  under  General  Stark.  As  Stark 
saw  the  enemy's  lines  forming  for  battle,  he  shouted  to 
his  "  Green  Mountain  Boys  :"  "  There  are  the  red-coats  ! 
Before  night  they  must  be  ours,  or  Molly  Stark  will  be  a 
widow. "  He  was  successful ;  and,  on  the  same  day,  with  Seth 
Warner's  regiment  of  Vermonters  that  had  timely  come  to 
his  aid,  he  was  again  victorious,  defeating  a  detachment  that 
had  been  sent  to  reinforce  Baum  (Aug.  16). 

60.  Every    day    the    Indians 
brought    scalps    to    Burgoyne's 
camp. 1     One  day  they  displayed 
twenty,  and  "  their  activity  was 

commended."     This 

foes  of '    leads     us    to     ask  : 
the  patriots. 


the  patriots,  in  their  heroic 
struggle  for  liberty,  contend 
ing?  The  answer  is  :  not  only  FLAG  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

against  the    regular  troops    of         AD01 

1  The  murder  of  Jane  McCrea  excited  wide-spread  horror.  This 
young  lady,  it  appears,  had  engaged  her  hand  in  marriage  to  a  refugee 
named  Jones,  who  was  with  Burgoyne.  Anxious  to  possess  himself  of 
his  bride,  he  sent  a  small  party  of  Indians  to  bring  her  to  him.  On  her 
way  the  Indians  quarrelled,  when  one  of  them  struck  her  down  with  his 
hatchet.  "  Tradition  reports  that  the  Indians  divided  her  scalp,  and 
mat  each  party  carried  half  of  it  to  the  agonized  lover." 

7  The  National  Flag.     No  flag  was  adopted  for  the  United  States  before 


1777  Surrender  of  Burgoyne.  159 

England,  but  against  more  than  twenty  thousand  hired  troops 
from  Germany  ;  against  thousands  of  vindictive  tories — men 
of  American  birth  who  adhered  to  the  king's  cause, — and, 
what  was  far  worse,  against  hordes  of  savages,  whose  ferocity, 
said  Edmund  Burke,  "  exceeded  the  ferocity  of  all  barbarians 
mentioned  in  history." 

61.  But  the  atrocities  of  the  savages  aroused  into  terrible 
earnestness  the  men  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  the 
western  part  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  they  flocked,  each  with 
his   musket,    and  with   his    powder   horn    slung  Burgoyne's 
around  his  shoulders,  to  the  American  head-quar-    situation. 
ters.     Washington,   too,   though  needing  every  man  of  his 
force  to  watch  and  thwart  Howe,  sent,  from  his  best  troops, 
five  hundred  riflemen  under  Colonel  Morgan  ;  and  soon  Gen 
eral  Gates,  who  had  succeeded  Schuyler,  found  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  large  army,  animated  with  one  purpose. 

62.  On  the  19th  of  September  the  great  conflict  between 
the  two  armies  began.     In  the  struggle  of  that  day,  known 
as  the  first  battle  of  Still  water,  Arnold  did   brave  service. 
The  contest  was  severe,  and  was  only  ended  when    Surrender 
darkness. ended  it.     Both  parties  claimed  the  vie-         of 
tory  ;    but,  though  the  British  remained  on  the    ' 

field  of  battle,  their  progress  towards  Albany  had  received  a 
fatal  check.  For  two  weeks  the  armies  confronted  each 
other,  Burgoyne  hoping  all  the  time  to  receive  aid  from  Clin 
ton,  who  was  in  command  at  New  York.  Finding,  at  last, 
that  he  must  either  fight  or  surrender,  he  made  an  effort  to 
cut  his  way  through  the  American  lines.  This  brought  on 
the  second  battle  of  Stillwater,  sometimes  called  the  battle 
of  Saratoga,  in  which  Burgoyne,  after  the  most  determined 
exertions,  was  compelled  to  fall  back  (Oct.  7).  Ten  days 
after,  finding  himself  completely  surrounded  by  the  patriots, 

» 

June,  1777,  consequently,  up  to  that  time  the  Americans  had  not  been 
fighting  under  a  common  banner.  During  the  first  months  of  the  war, 
each  colony  or  state  had  its  own  flag.  At  first,  thirteen  stars  were  ar 
ranged  in  a  circle  to  express  the  union  of  the  states.  The  flag  has  now 
(1879)  thirty-eight  stars  and  thirteen  stripes.  Why  ? 


160  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1778 

and  being  without  provisions  for  his  half-starved  army,  he 
was  compelled  to  surrender.   (Oct.  17,  1777). 1 

63.  Such  a  decided  victory  inspired  the  patriots  with  the 
conviction  that  their  cause  would  ultimately  triumph.     When 
the  news  reached  France,  "  the  effect  was  thrilling,  electric. 

Effects      ^  Paris  was  thrown  into  transports  of  joy. "    The 
of  the      government  of  that  country  decided  openly  to  take 
er'    the   part   of    the   struggling    patriots.     Treaties, 
which  had  previously  been  considered, 
were  soon  made,  by  which  France  ac  - 
knowledged  the  independence  of  the 
United    States,    and    agreed    to    aid 
them  in  their  war  with  Great  Britain 
(Feb.    1778).     This   important  event 
was  brought  about,   mainly,  through 
the  efforts  and  address  of  an  old  man, 
who,  "with  white  stockings,  specta 
cles  on  his  nose,  a  round  white  hat 
under  his  arm,  and  thin  gray  hair," 
DR.  FRANKLIN.  jia(j  agajn  an(j  again  appeared  at  the 

French  court,  and  who  was  affectionately  known  by  all  the 
French  people  by  the  simple  title  of  Dr.  Franklin. 

64.  "  Free  from  the  illusions  of  poetic  natures,  Franklin 
loved  truth  for  its  own  sake,  and   looked  upon  things  just  as 
they  were.     As  a  consequence,  he  had  no  eloquence  but  that 

.      of  clearness.     He  computed  that  the  inheritor  of  a 

at  the      noble  title  in  the  ninth  generation  represents  at 

French  court.mogt  but  the  fiye  hundrcd  and  twelfth  part  of  the 

ancestor.     In  regard  to  money  he  was  frugal  that  he  might  be 
independent,  and  that  he  might  be  generous.     He  owed  good 

1  In  this  second  battle  of  Stillwater,  Arnold,  though  holding  no  com 
mand,  again  distinguished  himself,  and  was  severely  wounded.  The 
number  of  men,  not  including  the  sick  and  wounded,  of  Burgoyne's 
army  that  surrendered  was  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one 
The  Americans  also  acquired  a  large  number  of  cannon  and  muskets. 
While  Burgoyne  was  expecting  aid  from  Clinton,  that  officer  captured 
forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery,  on  the  Hudson  river,  and  Kingston  was 
burnt. 


1778  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia.  161 

health  to  his  exemplary  temperance.  Habitually  gay,  em 
ployment  was  his  resource  against  weariness  and  sorrow  ; 
and  contentment  came  from  his  superiority  to  ambition,  in 
terest,  or  vanity.  There  was  about  him  more  of  moral  great 
ness  than  appeared  on  the  surface  ;  and  while  he  made  no 
boast  of  unselfish  benevolence,  there  never  lived  a  man  who 
would  have  met  martyrdom  in  the  course  of  duty  more  surely 
or  more  unmoved. 

65.  The  official  conduct  of  Franklin  and  his  intercourse 
with  persons  of  highest  rank  were  marked  by  the  most  deli 
cate  propriety,  as  well  as  by  perfect  self-respect.     His  charm 
was  simplicity,  which  gave  grace  to  his  style  and  ease  to  his 
manners.     No  life-long  courtier  could  have  been  more  free 
from  vulgarity  ;  no  diplomatist  more  true  to  his  position  as 
minister  of  a  republic  ;  no  laborer  more  consistent  with  his 
former  life  as  a  working-man  ;  and  thus  he  won  respect  and 
love  from  all.     When  a  celebrated  cause  was  to  be  heard  be 
fore  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  the  throng  which  filled  the 
house  and  its  approaches  opened  a  way  on  his  appearance, 
and  he  passed  through  to  the  seat  reserved  for  him  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  the  people.     At  the  opera,  at  the  theatres, 
similar  honors  were  paid  him.     At  the  Academy  he  was  ad 
dressed  by  its  president  as  the  man  who  had  wrenched  the 
thunderbolt  from  the  cloud,  the  sceptre  from  tyrants  ;  and 
both  these  ideas  were  of  a  nature  to  pass  easily  into  the  com 
mon  mind.     Whatever  favor  Franklin  met  in  society,  what 
ever  honor  he  received  from  the  Academy,  whatever  respect 
he  gained  as  a  man  of  science,  whatever  distinction  came  to 
him  through  the  good-will  of  the  people,  whatever  fame  he 
acquired  throughout  Europe,  he  turned  all  to  account  for  the 
good  of  his  country." 

66.  The  loss  of  Burgoyne's  army  and  America's  alliance 
with    France,    alarmed   the    British    government.  Evacuation 
Bills  were  passed  by  Parliament,  having  for  their         of 
object  the  winning  back  to  royalty  "  the  revolted     1  a  e  p  ia" 
colonies  ;"  and  Howe's  army, — in  danger  of  being  entrapped 


162  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1778 

by  a  French  fleet,  under  D'Estaing  (des-tangf),  on  the  eve 
of  sailing  for  the  Delaware,  to  co-operate  with  Washing 
ton's  forces, — was  ordered  to  leave  Philadelphia.  That  city 
was  accordingly  abandoned  ;  l  but  the  retreating  army,  com 
manded  by  Clinton,  Howe's  successor,  while  crossing  New 
Jersey,  was  overtaken  by  Washington,  at  Monmouth. 

67.  General  Lee,  who  led  the  advance,  was  directed  to 
make  an  attack  upon  the  enemy's  line  ;  but,  instead  of  doing 
so,  he  commenced  a  retreat.  Washington  coming  up, 

Battle  of  severely  reprimanded  him  on  the  spot, 2  and  again 
Monmouth.  ordered  him  to  rally  his  men  and  advance.  This 
was  done,  and  the  battle  continued  until  nightfall,  but  with 
out  a  decisive  result  (June,  1778).  The  Americans  slept  on 
their  arms,  intending  to  renew  the  contest  early  the  following 
morning.  "  Washington  lay  on  his  cloak  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree,  with  Lafayette  beside  him,  talking  over  the  strange  con 
duct  of  Lee,  whose  disorderly  retreat  had  come  so  near  being 
fatal  to  the  army.  What  opinions  he  gave  on  the  subject,  in 
the  course  of  his  conversation,  the  marquis  does  not  tell  us  : 
after  it  was  ended  he  wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak,  and  slept 
among  his  soldiers.  At  daybreak  the  drums  beat.  The 
troops  roused  themselves  from  their  heavy  sleep  and  prepared 
for  action  ;  but,  to  their  surprise,  the  enemy  had  disappeared. 
There  was  a  deserted  camp,  in  which  were  found  four  officers 
and  about  forty  privates,  too  severely  wounded  to  be  conveyed 
away  by  the  retreating  army. "  Washington  did  not  con 
tinue  the  pursuit.  "  The  distance  to  which  the  enemy  must 

1  After  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia,  General  Joseph  Reed,  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress,  was  approached  by  a  lady  acting  under  the  direction  of 
a  British  agent  named  Johnstone,  and  offered  £10,000  and  any  colonial 
office  in  his  Majesty's  gift,  if  he  would  exert  his  influence  to  restore  a 
union  of  the  two  countries.     Filled  with  indignation,  Reed  replied,  "I 
am  not  worth  purchasing,  but,  such  as  lam,  the  king  of  Great  Britain  is  not 
rich  enough  to  do  it. ' '  - 

2  Lee's  pride  having  been  wounded  by  the  rebuke  which  he  had  re 
ceived  on  the  field  of  battle,  he  sent  two  disrespectful  letters  to  Wash 
ington.     He  was  therefore  tried  by  court-martial,  and  suspended  from 
his  command  for  a  year.     He  never  rejoined  the  army  ;  but,  just  before 
the  close  of  the  war,  died  at  Philadelphia. 


1778  Massacre  of  Wyoming.  163 

by  this  time  have  attained,  the  extreme  heat  of  the  weather, 
and  the  fatigued  condition  of  his  troops/'  deterred  him.1 

68.  Among  the  saddest  events  of  the  year  1778  was  the 
massacre  at  Wy-o'-ming,  Pennsylvania.     In  July  a  band  of 
tories   and  Indians  entered  that  beautiful  valley,  which  was 
almost  defenseless,  as  most  of  the  able-bodied  men    M 

had  joined  the  patriot  army,  and  with  fire  and  of 
sword  ravaged  and  desolated  every  settlement. 
"  The  closing  scene  of  that  memorable  drama  was  in  terrible 
keeping  with  the  bloody  acts  which  had  preceded.2  The 
fair  fields  of  Wyoming  presented  a  melancholy  spectacle  on 
the  morning  of  the  4th.  The  sun  arose  upon  the  carcasses  of 
the  dead — not  only  dead  but  horribly  mangled — strewn  over 
the  plain.  A-  few  stragglers  had  at  first  taken  refuge  in  Fort 
Forty  (near  Wilkes'-bar-re),  and,  by  the  morning  light,  all 
who  had  not  been  slain,  or  who  had  not  betaken  themselves 
to  the  mountains,  had  collected  within  the  fort,  before  which 
Colonel  John  Butler,  with  his  motley  forces,  appeared  at  an 
early  hour,  and  demanded  a  surrender. 

69.  The  little  fort,  being  surrounded  by  a  cloud  of  Indians 
and  tories  and  having  no  means  of  defense,  Colonel  Denni- 
son,  now  in  command,  yielded  to  the  force  of  circumstances, 
and  the  importunities  of  the  women  and  children,  and  en 
tered  into  articles  of  capitulation.     By  these  it  was  mutually 

1  The  hopes  of  the  Americans  in  regard  to  the  French  fleet  were  dis 
appointed.     D'Estaing,  "  was  unfortunate  in  the  length  of  his  voyage. 
Had  he  arrived  in  ordinary  time,  he  might  have  entrapped  Lord  Howe's 
squadron  in  the  river,  and,  by  co-operating  with  Washington,  compelled 
the  British  army  to  surrender."     A  plan  had  also  been  formed  to  drive 
the  British  from  Newport,  R.  I.     General  Sullivan,  who  was  to  act  with 
D'Estaing,  gained  a  position  on  the  island  where  the  city  is  located, 
but  the  French  fleet,  after  an  encounter  with  the  enemy's  fleet,  sailed  to 
Boston.     Sullivan  being  thus  deserted,  and  also  threatened  by  a  greatly 
superior    force,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  to  the  mainland  (Aug.  and 
Sept.,  1778). 

2  A  battle  took   place,  July  3d,  between  a  large  force  of   tories  and 
Indians,  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Butlef,  and  a  hastily  organized 
force  of  patriotic  Americans,  commanded  by  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler. 
The  Americans  were  defeated  with  horrible  slaughter,  and  many  of  those 
who  were  made  prisoners  were  put  to  death  by  fiendish  torture. 


164  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1778 

agreed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  settlements  should  lay 
down  their  arms,  the  fort  be  demolished,  and  the  stores  be  de 
livered  to  the  conquerors.  The  inhabitants  of  the  settle 
ments  were  to  be  permitted  to  occupy  their  farms  peaceably. 
But  the  last -mentioned  stipulation  was  entirely  unheeded  by 
the  Indians,  who  were  not,  and  perhaps  could  not  be,  re 
strained  from  the  work  of  rapine  and  plunder.  The  surren 
der  had  no  sooner  taken  place  than  the  savages  and  some 
tory  fiends  spread  through  the  valley.  Every  house  not  be 
longing  to  a  loyalist  was  plundered  and  then  laid  in  ashes. 
The  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  not  engaged  in  the  bat 
tle,  men,  women,  and  children,  had  fled  to  the  mountains  ; 
and  as  the  work  of  destruction  was  re-commenced,  many 
others  followed  the  example.  The  village  of  Wilkesbarre, 
consisting  of  twenty-three  houses,  was  burnt,  and  women 
and  children  perished  in  the  dismal  swamp  to  which  the#  had 
sought  refuge."  1 

70.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year  Clinton  sent  a  force 
to  invade  Georgia.  Savannah  was  attacked,  and  being  de 
fended  by  only  a  small  force,  was  captured  (Dec.  29). 

„  Other  disasters  followed,  until  Georgia  was  en- 

in  tirely  in  the  possession  of  the  British.2  Some 
e  ou  '  months  later,  General  Lincoln,  who  was  in  com 
mand  of  the  patriot  forces  at  the  South,  was  defeated  near 

1  In  November  of  the  same  year,  a  party  of  tories  and  Indians  fell 
upon  the  settlement  of  Cherry  Valley,  New  York,  and  killed  or  carried 
into  captivity  many  of  the  settlers.     To  punish  the  Indians,  General 
Sullivan,  during  the  following  summer,  entered  the  region  near  the  head 
waters  of  the  Susquehanna  and   Genesee  rivers.      At  Newtowu,  now 
Elmira,  he  routed  a,  body  of  the  enemy  in  a  fierce  conflict  known  as  the 
"Battle  of  Chemung"  (Aug.   29th,  1779);    and  then  destroyed  forty 
Indian  villages.     The  murderous  incursions  of  the  savages  were  after 
ward  less  frequent. 

2  Colonel  Clark,  in  the  service  of  Virginia,  conducted  an  expedition, 
which,  says  Bancroft,  "  for  the  valor  of  the  actors,  their  fidelity  to  one 
.-mother,  the  seeming  feebleness  of  their  means,  and  the  great  result  of 
their  hardihood  remains  forever  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  world." 
Commanding  a  small  body  of  men,  on  rafts  he  floated  down  the  Ohio  as 
far  as  the  present  State  of  Indiana,  then  captured  Kaskaskia,  whence, 
in  the  dead  of  winter,  his  little  party  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  men 
marched  a  distance  of  280  miles,  much  of  the  time  up  to  their  breasts  in 


1779  Paul  Jones's  Victory.  165 

Charleston  ;  he,  however,  in  co-operation  with  the  French 
fleet  under  D'Estaing,  endeavored  to  recover  Savannah. 
After  a  siege  of  about  three  weeks,  an  assault  was  made  ;  but 
the  assailants  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Among  those 
who  fell  was  the  gallant  Count  Pulaski  (Oct.  9,  1779). 

71.  Stony  Point  projects  into  the  Hudson  about  forty  miles 
from  the  city  of  New  York.     It  had  been  taken  possession  of 
by  the  British,  who  strongly  fortified  it  ;  but  Washington, 
desiring  to  recover  the  post,  planned  an  attack  to    stormin{? 
be  conducted  by  General  Anthony  Wayne,  "the         of 
Mad  Anthony/'  so  called  from  his  daring  valor.  StonyP' 

At  midnight,  July  loth,  the  Americans,  in  two  columns, 
forced  their  way  into  the  fort  from  opposite  sides,  and,  meet 
ing  in  the  centre  of  the  works,  the  garrison  surrendered. 
This  "  stands  out  in  high  relief,  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
achievements  of  the  war.  The  Americans  had  effected  it 
without  firing  a  musket." 

72.  A  wonderful  cruise,  crowned  by  a  brilliant  victory,  was 
made  by  Paul  Jones,  "  a  tough,  valiant,  indomitable,  auda 
cious  hero,  with    foppish    ways 
and  costume,  and  ro-  Paui  jones's 
mantic,  fantastic     victory, 
courtesy  and  enthusiasm.     Like 
all  the  greatest  fighters,  he  per 
formed    his    immortal     exploits 
while   he   was    young  :    he   was 
but  thirty  when  he  did  his  great. 
est  day's  work."     He  Avas  a  Scot 
by  birth,   in  the  service  of  the 
United    States.     With   a    small 
squadron,    for    which    he    was 

PAUL  JONES.  mainly  indebted  to  the  efforts  of 

Dr.    Franklin,   he  sailed  from  France  ;    and,  after  cruising 

water,  and  captured  Vincennes  (1778-0).  "  Except  for  George  Rogers 
Clark  and  his  victories,  the  North-west  would  have  been  to-day  a  British 
Canadian  colony/' 


166  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1779 

along  the  eastern  coast  of  Scotland  and  England,  effect 
ing  the  destruction  of  several  ships  and  alarming  every 
settlement,  he  encountered  two  British  frigates  that  were 
convoying  a  merchant  fleet.  One  of  the  most  desperate 
naval  engagements  recorded  in  the  annals  of  naval  warfare 
ensued.  The  Bon  Homme  (horn)  Kichard,  Jones's  flag-ship, 
coming  in  contact  with  one  of  the  frigates,  Jones  lashed  the 
two  vessels  together  ;  and  there  were  moments  when  both 
were  on  fire.  The  contest  lasted  from  seven  in  the  evening 
till  ten  at  night,  when  the  frigates  struck  their  flags.  Find 
ing  that  his  own  ship  was  sinking,  Jones  transferred  himself 
and  crew  to  one  of  the  prizes  (Sept.  1779). 

73.  The  principal  military  operations  of  1780  were  carried 
on  in  the  Carolinas.     Clinton  appeared   before  Charleston, 
and  laid  siege  to  the  city.     After  holding  out  forty  days,  its 

The        brave  defender,  General  Lincoln,  was  obliged  to 
loss  of      surrender  the  place  ;  and  he  and  his  army  became 
Charleston.  prigoners  of  war  (May  12). *     Three  expeditions, 
sent  by  Clinton  into  the  interior  of   South  Carolina,  were 
completely  successful ;  and  the  Bri  tish  general  at  last  felt  con 
vinced  that  the  province  was  thoroughly  subdued. 

74.  Clinton  was,  however,   greatly  mistaken.     The  brave 
partisan   leaders,    Marion,    "  The    Swamp    Fox ;"    Sumter, 
"  The  South  Carolina  Game  Cock  ;"  and  Pickens,  "  the  Puri 
tan  in  religion,  the  patriot  in  thought  and  deed,"  gathered 
around  them  the  scattered  patriots,  and  by  their  daring  ex- 

1  When,  in  1781,  the  fortunes  of  the  British  at  the  South  began  to 
decline,  their  commander,  Rawdon,  called  upon  all  persons  who  had 
given  in  their  adhesion  to  the  royal  cause  to  repair  at  once  to  his  stand 
ard.  Among  the  persons  so  called  was  Colonel  Isaac  Hayne,  a  distin 
guished  patriot  of  South  Carolina,  who  had  been  assured,  when  he  took 
the  oath  of  adherence  at  the  fall  of  Charleston  (May  12th,  1780),  that  he 
would  never  be  required  to  take  up  arms  against  his  countrymen.  Be 
lieving  this  call  to  be  in  violation  of  the  agreement,  and  being  thus  com 
pelled  to  assume  the  sword  either  for  or  against  the  patriots,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  choose  the  former.  At  the  head  of  a  troop  of  horse  he 
gained  some  advantages,  but,  being  surprised  and  captured,  he  was 
taken  to  Charleston,  briefly  examined,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung  ;  and, 
though  the  citizens  petitioned  for  his  pardon,  the  sentence  was  duly  ex 
ecuted  (1781). 


1780  Battle  of  Camden.  167 

ploits  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  freedom.     "  These  leaders  were 
always  engaged  in  breaking  up  the  smaller  posts,  or  in  repair 
ing  losses  sustained  by  ac-     Marion 
tion.      The   tr'oops   which      Sumter,' 
followed  their  fortunes,  on  andpickens- 
their   own   or   their   friends'    horses, 
were  armed  with  rifles,  in  the  use  of 
which   they  had    become   expert  ;    a 
small  portion  only,  who  acted  as  cav 
alry,    being    provided    with    sabres. 
When    they   approached    an    enemy, 
they  dismounted,  leaving  their  horses 

GENERAL    MAKIOX.  jn    g()me    hjd(}en     Spot.         VictonOUS     Ol* 

vanquished,  they  flew  to  their  horses,  and  thus  improved  vic 
tory  or  secured  retreat. 

75.  Their  marches  were  long  and  toilsome,  and  they  seldom 
partook  of  food  more  than  once  a  day.     Their  combats  were 
like  those  of  the  Parthians,  sudden  and  fierce,  their  decisions 
speedy,  and  all  their  after  measures  equally  prompt.     With  al 
ternate  fortunes  they  persevered  to  the  last,  and  greatly  con 
tributed  to  that  success  which  was  the  first  object  of  their 
efforts."     On  one  occasion,  a  British  officer  was  conducted  to 
Marion's  camp  on  official  business,  and  was  politely  invited 
to  dinner.     The  whole  fare  proved  to  be  only  roasted  sweet 
potatoes,  served  on  pieces  of  bark.     "  And  is  this  your  usual 
mode  of  living?"  exclaimed  the  officer.     "  It  is,"  said  Mar 
ion  ;  "  and  we  are  content  with  it,  and  ask  no  pay  besides." 
The  officer  returned  feeling  that  it  was  of  little  use  to  fight 
against  such  men. 

76.  Lincoln's  surrender  at  Charleston  left  the  Americans 
without  a  commander-in-chief  of  their  southern  department. 
To  Gates,  the  victor  at  Saratoga,  Congress  speedily  assigned 
that  important  command,  hoping  that  he  would      Battle 

be  able  to  check  the  British  in  their  conquest  of  the    of  Camden. 
South.     From  his  camp,  a  few  miles  from  Camden,  he  began 
a   march   to   attack  Cornwallis,  at  that   city,  when,  at   the 


168  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1780 

same  time,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  Cornwallis  set  his 
troops  in  motion  to  attack  Gates' s  camp.  The  vanguards  of 
the  two  armies  met  at  Sanders  creek,  two  hours  after  mid 
night  (Aug.  16).  "  Both  sides  paused,  and  drawing  back, 
waited  with  throbbing  hearts  to  see  what  daylight  might  re 
veal.  At  break  of  day  the  battle  began.  The  first  scene  was 
soon  ended.  Unable  to  stand  the  fierce  onset  of  Cornwallis's 
veterans,  the  militia  broke  and  fled."  The  regulars,  how 
ever,  commanded  by  the  Baron  de  Kalb,  a  German,  and 
"  the  ablest  European  officer  who  had  come  over  to  assist  the 
Americans,"  were  not  so  easily  vanquished. 

77.  "  Gathering  all  his  forces  around  him,  Kalb  led  them 
to  the  charge.     His  sword  was  stained  deepest,  his  battle-cry 
rang  clearest  ;  there  was  triumph  in  the  keen  flash  of  his 
eye,  if  not  the  victor's  triumph,  the  triumph  of  duty  done. 
Three  times  he   led  his  willing  men  to  the  charge.     Three 
times   they   were   forced   back   by  superior   numbers.      For 

numbers  began  to  tell.  His  horse  was 
shot  under  him.  His  head  was  laid  open 
by  a  sabre  stroke.  Wound  followed 
wound,  but  he  held  his  ground  desperately. 
At  last,  Cornwallis,  concentrating  his 
strength  in  a  final  charge,  came  on. 
Kalb  fell,  bleeding  from  eleven  wounds. 
'  Spare  the  Baron  de  Kalb,7  cried  his  ad 
jutant,  vainly  throwing  himself  upon  his 

BARON   DE   KALB.  ,        -,  -,      ,  1    •    1  i    •  j.         'j.1      1    • 

body  and  trying  to  shield  it  with  his  own 
from  the  thirsty  bayonets.  He  spoke  to  hearts  hardened  by 
the  fierce  spirit  of  battle.  *  *  For  three  days  Kalb's 
strong  frame  struggled  with  death.  Soldier  to  the  last,  his 
thoughts  were  with  the  brave  men  who  had  faced  the  enemy 
so  gallantly  at  his  command,  and  just  before  he  expired  he 
charged  his  faithful  adjutant  to  give  them  his  '  thanks  for 
their  valor,  and  bid  them  an  affectionate  farewell.'  J 

78.  On  the  evacuation  of  Philadephia  by  the  British,  Ar 
nold  was  placed  in  command  at  that  city.     Here  he  governed 


1780 


Treason  of  Arnold. 


169 


with  a  high  hand.  "  His  course  was  oppressive,  unworthy  of 
his  rank  and  station,  and  highly  discouraging  to  Treason 
the  liberties  and  interests  of  America."  His  hab-  of  Arnold. 
its,  too,  which  were  extravagant  and  expensive,  increased  his 
debts  and  led  him  to  misapply  public  funds.  Though  his 
brilliant  services  spoke  eloquently  in  his  favor,  charges  were 
made  against  him,  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  sen 
tenced  to  be  reprimanded  by  the  commander-in-chief.  Wash 
ington  executed  the  sentence  with  great  delicacy,  "  accom 
panying  the  mild  and  considerate  reprimand  with  offers  of 
opportunities  by  which  Arnold  might  regain  the  esteem  of 
his  country,"  but  Arnold's  mind  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
be  favorably  affected.  He  protested  against  the  sentence  as 
unmerited,  and  determined  to  have  revenge. 

79.  Though  thus  disgraced  he  still  had  influence  with 
Washington,  who  remembering  his  gallantry  at  Quebec  and 
Saratoga,  continued  to  have  confidence  in  his  patriotism. 
When,  therefore,  Arnold,  asked  to  be  put  in  command  at 
West  Point,  a  strong  fortress  on  the 
Hudson  river,  asserting  that  his 
wounds  received  at  Saratoga  unfitted 
him  as  yet  for  more  active  duty, 
Washington  yielded.  West  Point  was 
"  the  great  object  of  British  and  Amer 
ican  solicitude,  on  the  possession  of 
which  were  supposed  by  many  to  hinge 
the  fortunes  of  war."  Having  ob 
tained  the  command,  Arnold  secretly 
offered,  by  means  of  a  correspondence, 
to  betray  the  fortress  into  the  hands 
of  the  British.  The  offer  was  accept 
ed  and  Major  Andre  was  appointed  by 
Clinton  to  arrange  the  plan,  and  set 
tle  the  terms  of  the  contemplated  treachery.  At  midnight 
Andre  met  the  traitor  at  a  solitary  spot  about  six  miles  below 
West  Point,  and  there,  in  darkness  among  the  trees,  the  bar 


170  Tlie  War  of  the  Revolution.  1780 

gain  was  made  ;  but  being  unable  to  return  to  New  York  by 
water,  as  had  been  previously  arranged,  he  was  obliged  to 
cross  the  river  and  proceed  by  land. 

80.  "Andre,   coming  to   a  place  where   a   small  stream 
crossed  the  road  and  ran  into  a  woody  dell,  a  man  stepped  out 
from  the  trees,  levelled  a  musket  and  brought  him  to  a  stand, 

Arrest  while  two  other  men,  similarly  armed,  showed  them- 
of  Andre.  selves  prepared  to  second  their  comrade. *  The  man 
who  had  first  stepped  out  wore  a  refugee  uniform.  At  sight 
of  it  Andre's  heart  leapt,  and  he  felt  himself  secure.  Losing 
all  caution,  lie  exclaimed  eagerly  :  '  Gentlemen,  I  hope  you 
belong  to  our  party  ? '  '  What  party  ?  '  was  asked.  '  The 
lower  party/  said  Andre.  '  We  do,'  was  the  reply.  All  re 
serve  was  now  at  an  end.  Andre  declared  himself  to  be  a 
British  officer  ;  that  he  had  been  up  the  country  on  particu 
lar  business,  and  must  not  be  detained  a  single  moment.  He 
drew  out  his  watch  as  he  spoke.  It  was  a  gold  one,  and 
served  to  prove  to  them  that  he  was  what  he  represented  him 
self,  gold  watches  being  seldom  worn  in  those  days,  except 
ing  by  persons  of  consequence.  To  his  consternation,  the 
supposed  refugee  now  avowed  himself  and  his  companions  to 
be  Americans,  and  told  Andre  he  was  their  prisoner  ! 

81.  Andre  was  astounded  at  finding  into  what  hands  he 
had  fallen  ;  and  how  he  had  betrayed  himself  by  his  heedless 
avowal.     Promptly,  however,  recovering  his  self-possession, 
he  endeavored  to  pass  off  his  previous  account  of  himself  as 
a  mere  subterfuge.     '  A  man  must   do   anything,'    said  he 
laughingly,  '  to  get  along.'     He  now  declared  himself  to  be 
a  Continental  officer,  going  down  to  Dobbs  Ferry  to  get  in 
formation  from  below  ;  so  saying  he  drew  forth   and  showed 
them  the  pass  which  had  been  furnished  him  by  Arnold. 
This,  in  the  first  instance,  would  have  been  sufficient ;  but 
his  unwary  tongue  had  ruined  him.     The  suspicions  of  his 
captors  were  completely  roused.     Seizing  the  bridle  of  his 

1  The  names  of  these  three  patriots  were  John  Paulding,  David  Wil 
liams,  and  Isaac  Van  Wart, 


1780  The  Fate  of  Andre.  171 

horse,  they  ordered  him  to  dismount.  He  warned  them  that 
he  was  on  urgent  business  for  the  general,  and  that  they 
would  get  themselves  into  trouble  should  they  detain  him. 
'  We  care  not  for  that/  was  the  reply,  as  they  led  him 
among  the  thickets,  on  the  border  of  the  brook.  Paulding 
asked  whether  he  had  any  letters  about  him.  He  answered, 
no.  They  proceeded  to  search  him. 

82.  They  obliged  him  to  take  off  his  coat  and  vest,  and 
found  on  him  eighty  dollars  in  Continental  money,  but  noth 
ing  to  warrant  suspicion  of  any  thing  sinister,  and  were  dis 
posed  to  let  him  proceed,  when  Paulding  exclaimed  :  '  Boys, 
I  am  not  satisfied — his  boots  must  come  off. '     At  this  Andre 
changed  color.     His  boots,  he  said,  came  off  with  difficulty, 
and  he  begged  he  might  not  be  subjected  to  the  inconve 
nience  and  delay.     His  remonstrances  were  in  vain.     He  was 
obliged  to  sit  down.     His  boots  were  drawn  off  and  the  con 
cealed  papers  discovered.     Hastily  scanning  them,  Paulding 
exclaimed,  (  My  God  !  he    is  a   spy  ! '     Paulding  demanded 
of  Andre  where  he  had  gotten  these  papers.     '  Of  a  man  at 
Pine's  Bridge,    a  stranger  to   me,'   was    the  reply.     While 
dressing  himself,  Andre  endeavored  to  ransom  himself  from 
his  captors,  rising  from  one  offer  to  another.     He  would  give 
any  sum  of  money,  if  they  would  let  him  go.     He  would  give 
his  horse,  saddle,  bridle,  and  one  hundred  guineas  ;"  but  the 
patriots  were  incorruptible.     They  took  him  to  the  nearest 
military  station,  the  commander  of  which,  having  no  suspi 
cion  of  Arnold,  at  once  notified  him  of  the  arrest.     The  trai 
tor,  panic-stricken,  fled,  and  "  shrinking  at  the  sight  of  the 
flag  it  had  been  his  glory  to  defend,"  escaped  by  means  of 
the  sloop-of-war  which  had  carried  Andre  up  the  river. 

83.  Andre  was  conveyed  to  Tappan.     On  the  way,  he  put 
questions  to   the  officer  who  had  charge   of   the  escort,  re 
specting  the  result  of  his  capture.     The  officer  was  silent,  but 
being  urged  to  reply,  said  :  "  I  had  a  much-loved       Fate 
classmate  in  Yale  College,  by  the  name  of  Nathan    of  Andre. 
Hale,  who  entered  the  army  in  1775.     Immediately  after  the 


172  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1780-1 


battle  of  Long  Island,  General  Washington  wanted  infor 
mation  respecting  the  strength,  position,  and  probable  move 
ments  of  the  enemy.  Captain  Hale  tendered  his  services, 
went  over  to  Brooklyn,  and  was  taken  on  his  return  just  as 
he  was  passing  the  outposts  of  the  enemy.  Said  I  with  em 
phasis,  Do  you  remember  the  sequel  ?"  "  Yes,"  said  Andre. 
"  He  was  hanged  as  a  spy  !  But  you  surely  do  not  consider 
his  case  and  mine  alike?"  "  Yes,  precisely  similar;  and 
similar  will  be  your  fate." 

84.  Andre    was  tried  by  a  court    composed  of   Generals 
Greene,  Lafayette,   Stark,  and  other  officers,  found  guilty, 
and  condemned  to  be  hung  as  a  spy.     He  was  led  forth  to 
die.     The  cart  on  which  he  stood  moved  away,  and  he  was 
no  longer  in  the  land  of  the  living.     Forty  years  afterward 
his  remains  were  taken  to  England,  and,  though  "  such  honor 
belongs  to  other  enterprises  and  deeds,"  were  laid  in  West 
minster  Abbey  beneath  a  costly  monument.1 

85.  Gates's  defeat    near   Camden  "  withered   the   laurels 
which  he  had  snatched  at  Sara 
toga,"    and    he   was    superseded 

in  the  command  of  the  southern 

B  .  ,        department    by    Gen- 

ofthe       eral  Greene,  who,  says 

Cowpens.     Hawthorne,    was    "a 

Quaker  and  a  blacksmith,  and  the 

best  soldier,  except  Washington,  in 

the  army. "    Separating  his  forces 

into   two  divisions,   Greene   sent 

one,  under  Morgan,  to  repress  the 

ravages  of  the  British  and  tories  in  GENERAL  GREENE. 

1  "  Arnold  was  made  brigadier-general  in  the  British  service,  and  put 
on  an  official  level  with  honorable  men  who  scorned  to  associate  with 
the  traitor.  What  golden  reward  he  was  to  have  received  had  his  treason 
been  successful  is  not  known  ;  but  six  thousand  inree  Hundred  and 
fifteen  pounds  sterling  were  paid  to  him,  as  a  compensation  for  losses 
which  he  pretended  to  have  suffered  in  going  over  to  the  enemies  of  his 
countr  v/ '  — /—-'•"  - 


1781  Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.  173 

South  Carolina.  The  successes  of  Morgan  impelled  Cornwall] s 
to  send  Tarleton  to  intercept  him  ;  but  at  the  Cowpens,  where 
the  Americans  made  a  stand,  the  British  were  completely 
routed,  and  "  Morgan  won  the  most  extraordinary  victory  of 
the  war  (Jan.  17,  1781)." 

86.  Hearing  of  the  disaster  to  Tarleton,  Cornwallis  started 
in  pursuit  of  Morgan,  who,  anticipating  the  enemy's  move 
ment,  had  hurried  oif  with  his  prisoners  and  spoils.     "  Mor 
gan  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Catawba  and  cross-  Cornwallis 
ing  it  just  two  hours  before  those  in  pursuit  of     pursues 
him  reached  its  banks.     A  heavy  rain  came  on    Mor&an- 
and  fell  all  night,  and  by  daybreak  the  river  was  so  swollen 
as  to  be  impassable."     Here  Greene  came  to  the  aid  of  Mor 
gan,  and,  by  skillful  maneuvering,  reached  the  fords  of  the 
Dan,  and  crossed  the  river  as  the  British  appeared  on  the  op 
posite   bank.     Cornwallis    then  gave  up  the   pursuit ;    but 
Greene  recrossed  the  Dan  and  advanced  to  Guilford  (gliil- 
ford)    Court  House.     There  he  was   attacked  by      B     . 
Cornwallis  (March  15)  and  forced  to  retreat;  but    of  Guilford 
the  British  suffered  so  severely  in  the  battle  that  CourtHouse- 
the  result  was  almost  as  good  as  a  victory  to  the  Americans. 
Cornwallis  "  could  not  hold  the  ground  he  had  so  bravely 
won,  and  was  obliged  to  retreat  from  the  scene  of  triumph." 

87.  Greene  now  boldly  advanced  into  South  Carolina,  while 
Cornwallis,  with  a  portion  of  his  forces,  moved  northward 
into  Virginia.     At  Hobkirk's  Hill,  near  Camden,  Greene  was 
attacked  by  Lord  Rawdon,  and  defeated  ;  but  the  battle  was 
so  stoutly  contested  by  Greene  that  the  enemy  were  too  much 
cut  up  to  make  any  use  of  their  victory  (April  25).     Being- 
obliged  to  abandon  Carnden,  the  British  set  it  on  fire.     Few 
posts  now  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  British  ;  for  the 
South  Carolina  partisan  leaders  had  kept  up  a  harassing  war 
fare  against  them.     To  make  this  more  effective,  Greene  hud 
detached  Colonel  Henry  Lee  wnn  a  small  body      B 

of  troops,  which  was  called  "  Lee's  Legion. "  The  of  Eutaw 
last  battle  in  the  South  was  fought  at  Eutaw  sPrin£s- 
Springs  (Sept.  8).  It  was  a  desperate  conflict ;  but  the  result 


174  Tht  War  of  the  Revolution.  1781 

was  so  doubtful  that  both  parties  claimed  the  victory. 
Throughout  this  campaign,  Greene  had  shown  splendid  ability 
as  a  general,  although  he  had  met  with  no  positive  success. 
To  use  his  own  language,  he  would  "  fight,  get  beaten,  and 
fight  again.'7 

88.  After  his  treason  Arnold  was  as  active  in  the  service  of 
the  king  as  he  had  previously  been  in  that  of  his  country.     He 
endeavored  to  do  his  countrymen  all  the  harm  he  could.     In 

command  of  a  force  of  British  and  refugee  troops, 
expedition  an(l  boasting  that  he  would  give  the  Americans  a 

against     kiow  <  <  that    would    make    the  whole    continent 
Virginia. 

shake,"  he  sailed  up  the  James  river,  and  at  Rich 
mond  set  fire  to  stores,  workshops,  and  other  buildings.  His 
work  of  destruction  being  completed  at  that  place,  he  de 
scended  the  river,  making  landings  from  time  to  time,  to 
burn,  plunder,  and  destroy  (1781).  It  is  related,  that,  to  one 
of  the  prisoners  captured  by  the  British,  Arnold  put  the  ques 
tion  :  "  If  the  Americans  should  catch  me,  what  would  they 
do  with  me  ?"  The  prompt  reply  was  :  "  They  would  cut  off 
your  leg  that  was  wounded  at  Saratoga  and  bury  it  with  the 
honors  of  war,  but  the  rest  of  you  they  would  hang." 

89.  The  closing  event  of  the  war  was  now  at  hand.     Wash 
ington,  having  the  aid  of  a  French  army  under  Rochambeau 
(ro-sham-bo1),  had  threatened  New  York  ;  but  hearing  that 

Siege       a  French  fleet,  under  De  Grasse  (grass),  had  ar- 

ofYorktown.  rived  in  the  Chesapeake,  he  suddenly  changed  his 

plan,  and  proceeded  rapidly  to  Yorktown,  where  Cornwallis 

had  taken  position.     It  was  too  late  for  Clinton  to  intercept 

the  march  of  the  Americans  ; 1  and  the  British  fleet  had  been 

1  When  Clinton  found  it  was  too  late  to  send  troops  to  Jamestown  for 
the  relief  of  Cornwallis,  he  undertook  to  recall 
Washington  by  sending  Arnold,  who  was  then 
in  New'York, 'against  Connecticut.  Arnold  plun 
dered  and  burned  New  London ;  and  Colonel 
Eyre  (Ire),  his  associate  officer,  having  taken 
Fort  Griswold,  barbarously  massacred  half  of  the 
garrison  after  they  had  surrendered.  Colonel  Led- 
yard,  the  American  commandant,  was  delivering 
up  his  sword,  when  a  tory  officer,  seizing  itr 
plunged  it  into  his  breast,  killing  him  on  the  spot  (Sept.  6th). 


1781 


Surrender  of  Cornwallis. 


foiled  by  T)e  Grasse.  Cornwallis,  attacked  by  sea  and  land, 
was  therefore  compelled  to  surrender  his  whole  army  prison 
ers  of  war.  (Oct.  19.) 

90.  "  At  about  twelve  o'clock,  the  combined    army  was 
drawn  up  in  two  lines,   more    than    a  mile  in  length — the 
Americans  on  the  right  side  of  the  road,  the  French  on  the 
left.     Washington,  mounted  on  a  noble  steed  and    Surrend*er 
attended  by  his  staff,  was  in  front  of  the  former  ;         of 
the  Count  de  Eochambeau  and  his  suite  were  in  CornwaUis- 
front  of  the  latter.     The  French  troops,  in  complete  uniform 
and  well  equipped,  made  a  brilliant   appearance,  and   had 


THE  JERSEY  PRISON-SHIP.1 

marched  to  the  ground  with  a  band  of  music  playing,  which 
was  a  novelty  in  the  American  service.  The  concourse  of 
spectators  from  the  country  seemed  equal  in  number  to  the 
military,  yet  silence  and  order  prevailed.  In  passing  through 
the  line  formed  by  the  allied  troops,  the  march  of  the  British 

1  The  patriots  who  had  the  misfortune  to  become  prisoners  of  war 
during  the  long  struggle  for  freedom,  were  treated  with  every  possible 
insult  and  outrage.  Many  of  them  were  confined  in  loathsome  "dungeons 
on  prison-ships,  where  they  received  such  inhuman  treatment  that 
thousands  died.  Of  these  floating  hulks,  the  most  noted  was  the  Jersey, 
which  was  anchored  in  a  small  bay  off  the  Long  Island  shore,  opposite 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  used  as  a  prison-ship  until  the  close  of  the  war. 


176  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1781-3 

troops  was  careless  and  irregular,  and  their  aspect  sullen. 
The  order  t  j  '  ground  arms  '  was  given  by  their  officers  with 
a  tone  of  deap  chagrin,  and  many  of  the  soldiers  threw  down 
their  muskets  with  a  violence  sufficient  to  break  them." 

91.  The  surrender  of  Oornwallis  was  a  death-blow  to  the 
hope  that  England  would  ever  regain  her  colonies.     When 
the 'prime  minister,  Lord  North,  heard  of  it,  he  acted  as  if 

Result  "  a  ^a^  nac^  entered  his  breast."  He  threw  up  his 
of  the  arms,  and  walked  wildly  up  and  down  the  room, 
ier*  exclaiming  from  time  to  time  :  "  It  is  all  over  !  It 
is  all  over  !"  Public  opinion  in  England  demanded  peace, 
but  stubborn  King  George  would  not  yield  at  once.  The 
clamor  out-of-doors  against  the  war  increasing,  a  new  minis 
try  was  formed  ;  and  a  treaty  was  made  at  Paris  (Sept.  3, 
1783),  by  which  Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  indepen 
dence  of  the  United  States,  agreed  to  the  great  lakes  on  the 
north  and  the  Mississippi  as  boundaries,  and  conceded  the 
right  to  fish  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 

92.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  people,  although  they  had 
gained  their  independence,  had  a  great  many  troubles  to  con 
tend  with.     There  was  no  money,  for  all  had  been  spent  in 

Condition  ^ie  war*  There  was  very  little  wealth  in  the 
of  the  country,  for  its  commerce  had  been  ruined,  its 

Country.  agrjcuiture  and  manufactures  very  much  neglect 
ed,  and  a  great  deal  of  its  property  destroyed.  Its  currency 
had  been  so  reduced  in  value  as  to  be  almost  worthless.  Con 
gress  had  no  means  to  pay  the  army,  and  the  troops,  not 
realizing  the  difficulties,  became  dissatisfied,  considering 
themselves  treated  with  injustice  and  ingratitude.  Some 
of  the  officers  were  so  indignant  that  they  were  ready  to 
enter  into  a  secret  combination  to  make  Washington  king, 
thinking  that  thus  they  could  acquire  a  recompense  for  their 
toils  and  sufferings.  When,  however,  they  made  the  pro 
posal  to  him,  he  rejected  it  with  indignation,  and  rebuked 
them  for  their  selfishness  and  want  of  patriotism. 

93.  On  the  25th  of  November,  1783,  "  Evacuation  Day," 


1783        Washington  Resigns  Ms  Command.         177 

the  British  army  left  New  York,  while  Washington,  and  Gov 
ernor  Clinton  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  soldiers  and  citizens, 
marched  into  the  city  and  took  possession.  A  scene  of  public 
festivity  and  rejoicing  followed,  closing,  in  the  evening,  with 
a  grand  display  of  fireworks. 

94.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  Washington  prepared  to 
depart  for  Annapolis,  to  resign  his  command  to  Congress.    On 
the  eve  of  his  departure  from  New  York,  "  the  principal  offi 
cers  were  assembled,  when  their  beloved  command-  Washin  ton,s 
er   entered    the    room.      His  emotions  were   too  farewell  to 
strong  to  be  concealed.     Turning  to  them  he  said,   Ms  officers< 

'  With  a  heart  full  of  love  and  gratitude  I  now  take 
leave  of  you.  I  most  devoutly  wish  that  your  latter  days 
may  be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have 
been  glorious  and  honorable  ;'  adding,  '  I  cannot  come  to 
each  of  you  to  take  my  leave,  but  shall  be  obliged  if  each  of 
you  will  come  and  take  me  by  the  hand.'  General  Knox, 
being  nearest  turned  to  him.  Washington,  incapable  of  utter 
ance,  grasped  his  hand  and  embraced  him.  In  the  same 
affectionate  manner  he 'took  leave  of  each  succeeding  officer. 
The  tear  of  manly  sensibility  was  in  every  eye  ;  and  not  a 
word  was  spoken  to  interrupt  the  dignified  silence  and  the 
tenderness  of  the  scene.  Leaving  the  room,  he  passed 
through  the  corps  of  light  infantry,  and  walked  to  White 
Hall  ferry,  where  a  barge  was  in  waiting  to  convey  him 
across  the  river.  The  whole  company  followed  in  mute  pro 
cession,  with  dejected  countenances,  testifying  feelings  of 
delicious  melancholy  which  no  language  can  describe." 

95.  Everywhere  as  he  rode  through  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  Maryland,  Washington  was  greeted  with  joy  and 
enthusiasm  by  the  people.     At  Annapolis,  in  the  presence  of 
the  members  of  Congress  and  of  a  large  assem-     ^  .  ng 
blage  of  ladies  and  civil  and  military  officers,  he         his 
resigned  to  Congress  the  trust  that  had  been  com-    command- 
mitted  to  him  as  commander -in-chief.     His  modest  and  dig 
nified  address  delivered  while  doing  so,  and  the  reply  which 


178  The  War  of  the  Revolution.  1783 

it  called  forth  from  the  president  of  Congress,  made  a  very 
deep  impression  upon  all.  "  Few  tragedies  ever  drew  so  many 
tears  from  so  many  eyes.  The  very  next  morning  Washing 
ton  left  Annapolis,  and  hastened  to  his  beloved  Mount  Ver- 
non,  where  he  arrived  the  same  day,  on  Christmas  Eve,  in  a 
frame  of  mind  suited  to  enjoy  the  sacred  and  genial  festival." 

96.  The  States  had  been  held  together  by  a  compact  known 
as  the  Articles  of  Confederation  ;  1  but  it  was  soon  discovered 
that  these  articles  gave  too  little  power  to  the  general  govern- 

Ado  tion  ment  ^0  enable  it  to  pay  the  debts  incurred  during 
of  the  the  war.  Congress  could  not  levy  taxes  :  it  could 
Constitution.  money>  Thig  the 


States  were  backward  in  doing,  either  because  the  people  were 
too  poor  to  pay  taxes,  or  from  jealousy  of  Congress.  In 
Massachusetts  two  thousand  men,  under  a  leader  named  Dan 
iel  Shays,  rose  in  arms  to  demand  that  the  collection  of  taxes 
should  be  suspended,  but  the  rebellion  was  suppressed  with 
out  bloodshed  (1787). 

97.  It  was  seen  that  a  stronger  government  was  necessary, 
or  the  tie  which  bound  the  thirteen  States  would  be  severed. 
Accordingly,  a  convention,  to  revise  the  Articles  of  Confed 
eration,  met  in  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1787.  Among  the 
wise  men  who  composed  this  memorable  council  were  Wash 
ington,  who  was  elected  its  president  ;  Dr.  Franklin,  now 
more  than  eighty  years  of  age  ;  and  Alexander  Hamilton, 
who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
After  about  four  months'  deliberation,  the  Articles  being  set 
aside,  a  constitution  was  framed,  and  sent  forth  to  receive 
the  assent  of  the  individual  States.  Though  it  met  with 
considerable  opposition,  it  was  finally  adopted. 

«$.  "  Neither  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  Constitution,  nor 

1  As  early  as  1776  a  form  of  government  for  the  thirteen  States  was 
proposed,  consisting  of  twenty  articles,  known  as  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation  ;  but  these  were  not  adopted  by  Congress  till  the  next  year, 
nor  did  they  go  into  effect  before  the  1st  of  March,  1781.  The  cause 
of  the  delay  was  in  the  tardiness  of  the  States  to  ratify  the  articles. 
Delaware  did  not  do  it  till  1779  ;  and  Maryland,  the  last,  till  1781. 


1783  TJie  First  Political  Parties.  179 

the  imposing  weight  of  character  by  which  it  was  supported, 
gave  assurance    to    its  friends  that  it  would  be   ultimately 
adopted"  by  the  States.     As  before  stated,  a  great        xhe 
many  persons  were  opposed  to  it,  and  exerted  their  Federalist. 
Influence  to  have  it  rejected.     "  Under  these  circumstances, 
Hamilton  and  Jay  conceived  the  plan  of  publishing,  through 
"lie  newspaper  press  of  New  York  city,  a  series  of  essays,  for 
the  purpose  of  explaining  and  defending  the  Constitution  ; 
and  they  invited  Mr.  Madison — whose  peculiar  qualifications, 
for  the  task  both  of  them  knew — to  co-operate  with  them  im 
the  work.     In  the  commencement,  these    articles  were  ad 
dressed  to  the  people  of  New  York,  under  the  signature  of 
'  A  Citizen  '  of  that  State  ;  but  the  general  interest  and  im 
portance  of  the  subject  soon  induced  the  writers  to  address 
their  reflections  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  ;   and, 
after  the  association  of  Madison  in  the  work,  the  signature 
of  '  A  Citizen  of  New  York '    was  exchanged  for  that  of 
*  Publius.'     Such  was  the  origin  of  a  series  of  papers  which, 
collected  and  published  under  the  title  of  the  FEDERALIST, 
nave  come  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  political  classics  of 
the  age  and  language  in  which  they  were  written,  and  will 
endure,  possibly,  even  longer  than  the  Constitution  which 
they  were  intended  to  elucidate  and  defend." 

99.  "  Before  the  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  several 
States,  the  country  became  divided  into  two  political  parties 
— the  friends  and  the  enemies  of  that  Constitution.  The  for 
mer,  being  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  a  federal  govern 
ment,  according  to  the  plan  marked  out  in  the  Constitution, 
naturally  took  the  name  of  Federalists.  Those  who  were  op 
posed  to  the  Constitution  and  the  form  of  govern-  The 
ment  which  it  contained,  as  naturally  took  the  first  political 
name  of  Anti-federalists.  Under  these  titles,  when  Parties- 
the  Constitution  had  been  adopted,  and  was  about  to  com 
mence  its  operations,  these  parties  took  the  field,  and  arrayed 
themselves,  both  in  Congress  and  the  country,  under  their 
several  banners."  (See  Appendix,  p.  5.) 


180 


Summary. 


SUMMARY. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. — The  measures  on  the  part  of 
England  to  monopolize  all  trade  with  her  colonies,  to  stifle  all 
manufacturing  in  them,  and  to  impose  taxes  upon  them  without 
their  consent  were  the  primary  causes  of  the  Revolution.  The 
immediate  causes  were  the  "Stamp  Act"  and  the  "Tea  Tax." 
The  "  Boston  Massacre"  (1770),  the  "Boston  Tea  Party"  (1773), 
the  "  Boston  Port  Bill"  (1774),  and  the  "  First  Continental  Con 
gress"  (1774),  were  the  principal  preliminary  incidents. 

1775.  The  battle  of  Lexington,  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  the  elec 
tion  of  Washington  to  the  command  of  the  army,  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and  Montgomery's  defeat  in  Canada,  were  the  prin 
cipal  events  of  the  first  year  of  the  war. 

1776.  The  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British,  their  defeat  before 
Charleston,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  battle  of  Long 
Island  with  its  disastrous  consequences,  and  Washington's  suc 
cess  at  Trenton,  were  the  events  of  the  second  year. 

1777.  Washington's  success  at  Princeton,  Burgoyne's  invasion  with 
its  checks  at  Bennington  and  on  the  Mohawk,  and  his  final  sur 
render,  Washington's  defeat  at  Brandywine,  and  the  British  occu 
pation  of  Philadelphia,  were  the  events  of  the  third  year. 

1778.  The  acknowledgment  by  France  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States,  the  British  evacuation  of  Philadelphia,  the  batt'e 
of  Monmouth,  the  "  Massacre  of  Wyoming,"  and  the  British  cap 
ture  of  Savannah,  were  the  events  of  the  fourth  year. 

1779.  Wayne's  capture  of  Stony  Point,  Sullivan's  expedition  against 
the  Indians,  Paul  Jones's  victory,  and  the  repulse  of  the  Americans 
at  Savannah,  were  the  events  of  the  fifth  year. 

1780.  The  loss  of  Charleston,  Gates's  defeat  in  South  Carolina,  and 
Arnold's  Treason,"  were  the  events  of  the  sixth  year. 

1781.  Morgan's  victory  at  the  Cowpens,  the  contest  between  Greene 
and  Cornwallis  in  the  Carolinas,  and  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis, 
were  the  events  of  the  seventh  year. 

1783.  The  treaty  of  peace  ;  the  British  evacuation  of  Savannah,  New 
York,  and  Charleston  ;  and  Washington's  resignation  of  his  com 
mand,  were  the  closing  events  of  the  war. 

MODEL  FOR  A  WRITTEN  EXERCISE,  NO.  2. 
(The  date  of  an  important  event  may  be  taken   as  a  turning-point. 
Then  arrange  on  the  one  side  of  it  the  train  of  cause-events,  and  on  the 
other  the  train  of  result-events). 

THE  SURRENDER  OF  BURGOYNE. 
Burgoyne  invades  New  York. 
He  captures  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga. 
His  expeditions  against  Fort  Schuyler  and  Bennington  end  in 
failure. 

He  is  defeated  in  the  two  battles  of  Stillwater. 

1777.  BURGOYNE  SURRENDERS  TO   GATES  (OCT.  17). 

Ticonderoga,  with  all  the  northern  part  of  New  York,  is  recov- 
ered  by  the  Americans. 

France  acknowledges  the  independence  of  and  forms  an  alliance 
with  the  United  States,  etc. 


Topical  Review. 


181 


TOPICS  FOR  REVIEW. 

(See  the  hints  and  directions,  p.  49.) 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Franklin.     (See  Bigelow's  Life  of  Franklin,  also  Parton's.)   115-161 
John  Adams.     (See  Life  and  Times  of  John  Adams  by  his  grand 
son,  Charles  Francis  Adams.)  131,  139,  146 
"Benedict  Arnold.    (See  Sparks's  Life  of  Arnold.)         -        -        -     141-174 
Gen.  Israel  Putnam.     (See  Tarbox's  Life  of   Putnam,  also  Pea- 
body's  in  Sparks's  "American  Biography.")  -                 -        135,  188 
Gen.  Joseph  Warren.     (See  A.   H.  Everett's  Life  of  Warren   in 

Sparks's  "  American  Biography  ;"  also  Frothingham's.)    129,  132,  138 
Gen.  Eichard  Montgomery.     (See  Armstrong's  Life  of  Montgomery 

in  Sparks's  "  American  Biography.")                     -         -         -     140,141 
Ethan  Allen.     (See  Sparks's  Life  of  Ethan  Allen  in  his  "  Amer 
ican  Biography.") 135,  141  (note). 

John  Hancock.     (See  Bancroft's  History  U.  S.)        129,  132,  146,  147  (note). 
Lafayette.     (See  Bancroft's  History  U.  S.)  -         -  -         -     152-172 

Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene.     (See  Life  of  Greene  by   his  grandson, 

G.  W.  Greene.) 135,  151  (note)-174 

Gen.  Philip  Schuyler.     (See  Lossing's  Life  of  Schuyler.)  -         140-159 

Gen.  John  Stark,     (See  Edward  Everett's  Life  of  Stark  in  Sparks's 

'*  American  Biography.")     -------     135-158 

Gen.  Horatio  Gates  was  born   in  England.        -  159-172 

Paul  Jones.     (See  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  Vol.  II. 
burne's  Life  of  Paul  Jones  ;  also  Miss  Taylor's.) 
Gen.   Anthony  Wayne.      (See   Armstrong's   Life   of 

Sparks's  "  American  Biography.") 
Gen.  Marion.     (See  Simms's  Life  of  Marion.)    - 
Patrick  Henry.    (See  Wirt's  Life  of  Henry.)    - 
GEOGRAPHICAL. 

New  York  City 126-177   Princeton 152 

Philadelphia 128-178    Germantown 153,  154 

Boston 128-142    Valley  Forge 155 

Concord 131-134   Bennington. 158 

Lexington 132-134    Saratoga 159 

Ticonderoga 135,156    Wyoming 163 

Quebec 140-142    Savannah 164, 165 

Charleston 128,  142-166    West  Point 169 

Brooklyn 147, 148    Yorktown 174, 175 

Camden,  S.  C 167-173    Mount  Vernon 177 

HISTORICAL. 


also  Sher- 

-     165,  166 
Wayne    in 

154  (note),  165 
-  143,  167 
126,  131,  138 


Causes  of  the  Revolution. .  .125-131 

Boston  Tea  Party 128-130 

Continental  Congress 130, 139 

Battle  of  Lexington 132-134 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill 135-138 

Expedition  against  Canada.  140, 141 
Declaration  of  Independence  144-147 

Battle  of  Long  Island 147, 148 

Battle  of  Trenton 150, 151 


Exp'n  against  Philadelphia  153, 154 

Surrender  of  Burgoyne 159,  160 

Treaty  with  France . 160 

Massacre  of  Wyoming 163, 164 

Treason  of  Arnold 168-172 

Surrender  of  Cornwallis 175 

History  of  the  Constitution. .  178, 179 
Washington's      movements 
during  the  war 131-178 


Washington's  Administration. 


1789 


SECTION   IV. 


THE   CONSTITUTIONAL  PERIOD. 


Washington's  Administration. 

1.  THE  first  Congress,  under  the  Constitution,  ought  tc 
have  met  at  New  York  on 

the  4th  of  March,  1789  ;  but 

in  consequence  of 

delay  in  the  ar- 

rival  of  its  mem 
bers,  the  most  of  whom  had 
to  make  their  way  on  horse 
back  or  by  sea,  a  quorum 
was  not  secured  before  the 
30th.  On  counting  the  votes 
which  had  been  cast  by  the 
state  electors,  it  was  found 
that  all  of  them  had  been 
given  for  Washington.  He 
was  consequently  declared 
the  president  elect  of  the  United  States,  and  a  message  was 
at  once  sent  to  Mount  Vernon  to  inform  him  of  his  elec 
tion.  l 

2.  "  Washington  desired  to  proceed  to  New  York  in  the 
most  quiet  manner,  but  the  flow  of  veneration  and  gratitude 
could  not  be  suppressed."  In  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  he 

1  "  Washington  received  sixty-nine  votes,  that  being  the  whole  num 
ber  of  electors  voting.  John  Adams  received  thirty-four  votes  in  all, 
not  a  majority,  but  sufficient,  as  the  Constitution  then  stood,  being  thy. 
second  highest  number,  to  make  him  vice-president,." 


WASHINGTON. 


1789  Inauguration  of  Washington.  183 

was  publicly  welcomed  and  entertained.  ' '  Ascending  tlie  left 
bank  of  the  Delaware,  he  crossed  into  New  Jersey.  The 
people  of  Trenton  remembered  the  battles  fought  Inauffuration 
in  their  neighborhood  twelve  years  before,  and  if  of! 
his  reception  at  other  places  was  more  splendid,  Wasllin&t011' 
nowhere  was  it  so  graceful  and  touching.  On  the  bridge 
across  the  river  which  flows  through  the  town  into  the  Dela 
ware,  the  same  bridge  across  which  Washington  had  re 
treated  before  Cornwallis's  army  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of 
Princeton,  a  triumphal  arch  had  been  erected,  supported  on 
thirteen  pillars,  twined  with  evergreens,  flowers,  and  laurel. 
Beneath  this  arch,  which  bore  for  inscription  w  The  Defender 
of  the  Mothers  will  be  the  Protector  of  the  Daughters,' 
were  assembled  a  party  of  matrons,  mixed  with  young  girls 
dressed  in  white,  who  were  holding  baskets  of  flowers  in  their 
hands.  As  Washington  approached  they  began  to  sing  a 
little  ode  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and,  suiting  the  action 
to  the  words,  they  ended  the  chant  in  strewing  their  flowers 
before  him. 

3.  As  the  new  Federal  Hall  in  New  York  was  not  yet  fin 
ished,  a  week  elapsed  before  preparations  were  completed  for 
administering  to  the  president  elect  the  oath  of  office.     The 
place  selected  for  that  purpose  was  the  outer  gallery  or  bal 
cony  of  the  Senate  Chamber,  visible  for  a  long  distance  down 
Broad  Street,  which  it  fronted,  thus  affording  opportunity 
to  witness  the  ceremony  to  a  large  number  of  eager  spectators. 
At  nine  o'clock  all  the  churches  in  the  city  were  opened  for 
prayer  and  religious  services.     A  little  after  noon  the  presi 
dent  elect  left  his  house  escorted  by  the  city  cavalry,  and  fol 
lowed  by  a  long  procession  of  citizens. 

4.  Having  entered   the  Senate  Chamber,  where   the  two 
houses  were  assembled  to  receive  him,  he  was  conducted  to 
an  elevated  seat  at  the  head  of  the  room.     After  a  momentary 
silence,  all  being   seated,    the  vice-president,  John  Adams, 
rose  and  stated  to  the  president  elect  that  all  was  ready  for 
the  administration  of  the  oath,  whenever  he  was  prepared  to 


184  Washington's  Administration.       1789-91 

receive  it.  Upon  this  intimation  Washington  proceeded  to 
the  balcony,  followed  by  the  senators  and  representatives. 
The  oath  was  administered  by  the  Chancellor  of  New  York, 
Robert  R.  Livingston.  As  he  finished  the  ceremony  he  ex 
claimed  aloud,  '  Long  live  George  Washington,  President  of 
the  United  States  !'  to  which  the  assembled  multitude  re 
sponded  in  long  and  enthusiastic  shouts,  and  all  the  bells 
in  the  city  rang  out  a  joyful  peal  (April  30)." 

5.  On  assuming  the  duties  of  president,  Washington  called 
to  his  aid,  as  his  cabinet,  or  body  of  advisers,  the  ablest  men 
in  the  country  that  he  could  select.     Thomas  Jefferson  was 

chosen  Secretary  of  State  ;  Alexander  Hamilton, 
measures  Secretai7  of  tne  Treasury  ;  and  Henry  Knox,  Sec 
retary  of  War.  Edmund  Randolph  was  also  ap 
pointed  Attorney-General.  The  first  great  difficulty  was  to 
provide  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  incurred  in  carrying  on 
the  late  war.  A  plan  was  proposed  by  Hamilton,  who,  said 
Daniel  Webster,  many  years  after,  "  smote  the  rock  of  the 
national  resources,  and  abundant  streams  of  revenue  gushed 
forth.  He  touched  the  dead  corpse  of  the  public  credit,  and 
it  sprung  upon  its  feet."  All  the  war  debts  of  the  States 
were  assumed  by  the  general  government.  Ample  provision 
was  made  for  the  payment  of  all  just  claims.  Commerce  be 
gan  to  nourish.  The  American  flag  was  soon  seen  on  every 
sea.  A  national  bank  and  mint  were  established  (1791). 
The  Ship  of  State  was  fairly  launched. 

6.  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  were  the  last  to  adopt 
the  Constitution.     The  first  admission  to  the  Union  was  of 
Vermont.     The  people  of  that  part  of  our  country  had  been 

The  14th  l°ng  knocking  at  the  door  of  Congress  for  admis- 
state.  sion?  kut  New  York  objected.  The  Vermont  ter 
ritory  had  been  claimed  by  both  New  York  and  New  Hamp 
shire  ;  but,  as  the  governors  of  the  latter  in  colonial  times  had 
disposed  of  a  large  portion  of  the  land  in  numerous  tracts, 
known  as  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants,"  and,  as  New  York's 
claim  had  been  confirmed  by  the  crown,  what  was  left  to 


1791-5  Foreign  Affairs.  185 

New  Hampshire  of  property  in  the  soil  was  supposed  to  be  of 
little  value.  Finally,  however,  the  payment  of  thirty  thou 
sand  dollars  to  New  York  secured  the  consent  of  that  claim 
ant,  and  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys"  took  thuir  seat  in  the 
great  family  of  States  (1791). 

7.  Treaties  had  been  made  with  most  of  the  Indian  tribes 
vithin  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States,  but  those 
north  of  the  Ohio  river  became  dissatisfied  with   the  boun 
daries  which  had  been  assigned  them,  and  showed    « 

,..,.,..,.          ,  ,       ,.,  Indian  war. 

their    dissatisfaction    by   numerous   hostile   acts. 

They  waylaid  the  boats  in  which  emigrants  were  proceeding, 
attacked  settlements,  and  committed  many  murders.  Wash 
ington  sent  a  force  under  General  Harmar  to  subdue  them, 
but  he  was  defeated.  A  force  under  St.  Glair  was  next  sur 
prised  and  defeated  with  heavy  loss  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
1794  that  the  savages  were  overcome.  In  that  year  they  were 
defeated  by  General  Wayne,  "  the  Mad  Anthony  of  the  Re 
volution,"  in  a  desperate  battle  fought  on  the  banks  of  the 
Maumee  river.  This  victory,  followed  up  by  severe  measures, 
compelled  the  Indians  to  sue  for  peace,  and  at  Greenville, 
where  eleven  hundred  warriors  had  assembled,  a  treaty  was 
made  by  which  a  large  tract  of  territory  was  ceded  to  the 
United  States  (1795). 

8.  The  French,  being  at  war  with  England,  expected  to  re 
ceive  aid  from  this  country  ;  and  many  of  the  American  peo 
ple,  grateful  to  their  old  allies,  were  desirous  of  giving  it. 
Washington,  however,  believing  that  such  a  course     Foreign 
would  imperil  the  liberties  of  the  United  States,      affairs, 
recommended  a  neutral  policy.     The  French  Minister  here 
tried  to  involve  the  people  in  the  war  by  fitting  out  privateers 
in  American  ports  ;  but  at  Washington's  request  he  was  re 
called.     Difficulties  had  also  arisen  with  England,  growing 
out  of  violations  of  the  treaty  of  1783  ;  but  these  were  disposed 
of  by  a  new  treaty  negotiated  by  John  Jay,  Chief  Justice, 
who  had  been  sent  to  England  as  a  special  envoy  for  the  pur 
pose,     A  large  number  of  persons,  including  those  who  de 


186 


Washington's  Administration. 


1795 


sired  to  aid  the  French,  regarded  this  treaty  with  decided  aver 
sion.  They  thought  it  favored  the  English  too  much.  Still 
it  was  ratified  by  the  Senate,  though  in  the  face  of  a  deter 
mined  opposition  on  the  part  of  many  Senators,  and  was  ap 
proved  by  Washington  (1795). 

9.  "This,  one  of  the  wise  statesmen  of  the  Revolution,  who 
survived  to   perform   services   of 
inestimable    value     to    the    new 


_ 
John  Jay. 


constitutional  govern 


JOHN  JAY. 


ment  was  a  man  whose 
character  needs  no  apologists. 
Webster  finely  said  that  '  the  spot 
less  ermine  of  the  judicial  robe, 
when  it  fell  on  the  shoulders  of 
John  Jay,  touched  nothing  not  as 
spotless  as  itself.'  His  integrity 
ran  down  into  the  roots  of  his 
moral  being,  and  honesty  was  in 
him  a  passion  as  well  as  a  princi 
ple.  The  celebrated  treaty  with  Great  Britain  which  he  ne 
gotiated  as  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  occasioned  an 
outburst  of  wrath  such  as  few  American  diplomatists  have 
ever  been  called  upon  to  face  ;  but  in  all  the  fury  of  opposi 
tion  to  it,  few  opponents  were  foolish  enough  to  assail  his  in 
tegrity  in  assailing  his  judgment  and  general  views  of  public 
policy."1 

10.  "In  the  fall  of  1792,  Eli  Whitney,  of  Massachusetts, 

Whisky  Insurrection.  In  1791  Congress  imposed  a  duty  on  domestic 
liquors.  This  caused  great  discontent  in  several  quarters,  but  particu 
larly  in  western  Pennsylvania,  where;  in  1794,  the  people  rose  in  rebel 
lion,  and  declared  they  would  not  pay  the  tax.  Upon  the  approach  of  a 
body  of  militia  sent  by  Washington,  the  insurgents  changed  their  minds 
and  yielded. 

1  John  Jay  was  born  in  New  York  City  in  1745.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  "  First  Continental  Congress  ;"  with  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and 
Henry  Laurens,  negotiated  the  treaty  of  1783  at  Paris  (see  p.  170)  ;  ren 
dered  important  aid  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  (see 
p.  179),  and  was  the  first  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  which 
office  he  resigned  on  his  return  from  England,  in  1795. 


1795  Invention  of  the  Cotton-Gin.  187 

made  an  engagement  with  a  Mr.  B.,  from  Georgia,  to  go  to 
that  State  and  reside  in  his  employer's  family  as  a  private 
teacher.     On  his  way  thither  he  had  as  a  travel-    Invention 
ing  companion  Mrs.  Greene,  widow  of  the  eminent      of  the 
Revolutionary  general,  who  was  returning  with  her 
children   to   Savannah,  after   spending  the   summer   at   the 
North.     Mr.  Whitney's  health  being  infirm  on  his  arrival  at 
Savannah,  Mrs.  Greene  kindly  invited  him  to  the  hospitali 
ties  of  her  residence  until  he  should  become  fully  restored. 
At  that  time  she  happened  to  be  engaged  in  embroidering  on 
a  peculiar  frame  known   as   a  tambour.     It  was  badly  con 
structed,  so  that  it  injured  the  fabric,  while  it  impeded  its 
production.     Whitney  eagerly  volunteered  to  make  her  a  bet 
ter  one,  and  did  so  on  a  plan  wholly  new,  to  her  great  delight 
and  that  of  her  children. 

11.  A  large  party  of  Georgians,  from  Augusta  and  the  plan 
tations  above,  soon  after  paid  Mrs.  G.  a  visit.     Among  the 
topics  discussed  by  them  around  her  fireside  was  the  depressed 
state  of  agriculture,  and  the  impossibility  of  profitably  extend 
ing  the  culture  of  cotton,  because  of  the  trouble  and  expense 
incurred  in  separating  the  seed  from  the  fiber.     These  repre 
sentations  impelled  Mrs.  Greene  to  say  :  '  Gentlemen,  apply 
to  my  young  friend,  Mr.  Whitney — he  can  make  any  thing.' 
She  thereupon  took  them  into  an  adjacent  room,  where  she 
showed  them  her  tambour-frame,  and  several  ingenious  toys 
which  Mr.  W.  had  made  for  the  gratification  of  her  children. 
She  then  introduced  them  to  Whitney  himself,  extolling  his 
genius  and  commending  him  to  their  confidence  and  friend 
ship. 

12,  Mr.  Whitney  promised  nothing  and  gave  little  encour 
agement,  but  went  to  work.     No  cotton  in  the  seed  being  at 
hand,  he  went  to  Savannah  and  searched  there  among  ware 
houses  and  boats  until  he  found  a  small  parcel.     This  he  car 
ried  home  and  secluded  with  himself  in  a  basement  room, 
where  he  set  himself  at  work  to  devise  and  construct  the  im 
plement  required,     Tools  being  few  and  rude,  he  was  con- 


188  Washington's  Administration.  1795 

strained  to  make  better — drawing  his  own  wire,  because  none 
could,  at  that  time,  be  bought  in  the  city  of  Savannah.  His 
mysterious  hammering  and  tinkering  in  that  solitary  cell  were 
subjects  of  infinite  curiosity,  marvel,  and  ridicule  among  the 
younger  members  of  the  family.  But  he  did  not  interfere 
with  their  merriment,  nor  allow  them  to  interfere  with  his 
enterprise  ;  and  before  the  close  of  the  winter  his  machine 
was  so  nearly  perfected  that  its  success  was  no  longer  doubt 
ful.  Mrs.  Greene,  too  eager  to  realize  and  enjoy  her  friend's 
triumph,  invited  an  assemblage  at  her  house  of  leading  gen 
tlemen  from  various  parts  of  the  State,  and,  on  the  first  day 
after  their  meeting,  conducted  them  to  a  temporary  building, 
erected  for  the  machine,  in  which  they  saw,  with  astonishment 
and  delight,  that  one  man  with  Whitney's  invention,  could 
separate  more  cotton  from  the  seed  in  a  single  day  than  he 
could  without  it  by  the  labor  of  months." 

13.  When  the  cotton-gin  was  invented  the  whole  business 
in  the  interior  of  the  Southern  States  was  in  a  languishing 
condition  ;  and  for  want  of  employment  the  inhabitants  were 

_  .  „  leaving.  This  invention  at  once  set  the  country 
the  in  motion.  To  planters  and  others,  who  were 

Invention.  Depressed  w^h  poverty,  it  opened  the  way  to  em 
ployment,  wealth  and  respectability.  Cotton  soon  began  to 
supplant  wool,  flax,  silk,  and  even  fur.  By  means  of  this 
machine  the  annual  production  of  cotton  in  the  Southern 
States  alone  was  increased  from  five  thousand  bales  to  over 
five  million  bales,  or  one  million  tons,  in  value  equal  to  seven- 
eighths  of  all  the  cotton  produced  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Then  "  cotton  was  King,  and  his  majesty  on  his  throne  did 
not  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  influence  which  surrounded  his 
cradle." 

14.  The  Atlantic  States  were  the  chief  seat  from   which 
issued  the  migration  destined  to   people  the  west.     "  An  ax, 

Migration    a  couple  of  horses,  and  a  heavy  rifle,  with  store  of 
to  the  West,  ammunition,  were  all  that  were  considered  neces 
sary  for  the  equipment  of  the  man  who,  with  his  family, 


Migration  to  the  West.  189 

removed  to  the  new  State  ;  assured  that,  in  that  land  of  ex 
uberant  fertility,  he  could  not  fail  to  provide  amply  for  all 
his  wants.  To  have  witnessed  the  industry  and  perseverance 
of  these  emigrants  must  at  once  have  proved  the  vigor  of  their 
minds.  Regardless  of  the  fatigue  attending  every  movement 
which  they  made,  they  pushed  through  an  unexplored  region 
of  dark  and  tangled  forests,  guiding  themselves  by  the  sun 
alone,  and  reposing  at  night  on  the  bare  ground.  They  had 
to  cross  numberless  streams  on  rafts,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  their  cattle,  and  their  luggage,  often  drifting  to  con 
siderable  distances  before  they  could  effect  a  landing  on  the 
opposite  shores.  To  these  troubles  add  the  constantly  impend 
ing  danger  of  being  murdered,  while  asleep  in  their  encamp 
ments,  by  the  prowling  and  ruthless  Indians.  Others,  perhaps 
encumbered  with  too  much  luggage,  preferred  descending  the 
stream.1  They  prepared  arks  pierced  with  port-holes,  and 
glided  on  the  gentle  current. 

15.  Many  travelers  have  described 'these  boats,  formerly 
called  arks,  but  now  named  flat-boats  ;  but  have  they  told  you 
that  in  those  times  a  boat  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  length,  by 
ten  or  twelve  in  breadth,  was  considered  a  stupendous  fabric  ? 
— that  this  boat  contained  men,  women,  and  children,  huddled 
together  with  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  poultry  for  their  com 
panions,  while  the  remaining  portion  was  crammed  with  ve 
getables  and  packages  of  seed  ?  The  roof  or  deck  of  the 
boat  was  not  unlike  a  farm-yard,  being  covered  with  hay, 
ploughs,  carts,  wagons,  and  various  agricultural  implements, 
together  with  numerous  other  things,  among  which  the  spin 
ning-wheels  of  the  matrons  were  conspicuous.  Have  they 
told  you  that  these  boats  contained  the  little  all  of  each  family 
of  venturous  emigrants,  who,  fearful  of  being  discovered  by 
the  Indians,  moved  about  in  darkness  when  night  came  on, 


1  The  particular  stream  referred  to  here  is  the  Ohio  river,  and  the 
emigrants  were  going  to  the  new  State  of  Kentucky  ;  but  the  description 
will  apply  to  the  western  emigrations  that  took  place,  not  only  then,  but 
in  succeeding  years,  and  even  to  recent  times. 


190  WasJiingtort  s  Administration.  1796 

groping  their  way  from  one  part  to  another  of  their  floating 
habitations,  and  denying  themselves  the  comforts  of  fire  or 
light,  lest  the  foe  that  watched  them  from  the  shore  should 
rush  upon  them  and  destroy  them  ?' ' 

16,  The  western  portion  of  several  of  the  States  extended 

to  the  Mississippi  river,  their  colonial  charters  being  the  basis 

for  such  possession.     One  after  another  these  States  surren- 

The        dered  the  control  of  their  western  lands  to  the 

15th  and  general  government,  and  the  region  north  of  the 
es>  Ohio  was  organized  under  the  name  of  the  North 
west  Territory  (1787).  From  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio, 
two  States  were  formed  during  the  administration  of  Wash 
ington, — Kentucky,1  previously  a  part  of  Virginia  (1792),  and 
Tennessee,  previously  a  part  of  North  Carolina  (1796). 

17..  Washington  had  now  served  nearly  eight  years,  having 
been  unanimously  re-elected  for  a  second  term.  In  1796  he 
was  again  urged  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  time,  but  he 

.  positively  declined.     The  country,  being  at  peace 
Retirement1  J       .  ,        ,  .  -,-,- 

of         with  the  world  and  in  a  prosperous  condition,  could, 

Washington,  -^  J3eiieve(j^  dispense  with  his  services.  In  that 
year  he  put  forth  to  his  countrymen  his  memorable  "  Farewell 
Address,"  the  closing  portion  of  which  is  herewith  given  : 

18.  "  In  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I 

w     .         ,  am   unconscious    of    intentional  error,  yet  I  am 

Farewell     nevertheless  too  sensible  of  my  own  defects,  not  to 

Address,     ^hjnk   ft   probable   that   I    may  have  committed 

many  errors.     Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the 

1  Daniel  Boone;  the  pioneer  in  the 'settlement  of  Kentucky,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1735,  and  died  in  Missouri  in  1820.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen,  he  went  with  his  father's  family  to  North  Carolina,  where,  a 
few  years  later,  he  was  married.  After  making  several  hunting  excur 
sions,  he  set  out,  in  1769,  with  five  companions,  to  explore  the  Kentucky 
country.  During  the^next  twenty-five  years,  his  life,  as  an  explorer, 
pioneer,  hunter,  guide',  and  settler,  was  the  most  prominent  one  in  the 
history  of  that  region.  He  had  many  encounters  with  the  Indians,  and 
was  three  times  captured,  but  in  each  case  effected  his  escape.  Iii  1775, 
lie  built  a  fort  on  the  Kentucky  river,  around  which  grew  up  the  settle 
ment  and  village  of  Boonsboro'.  After  Kentucky  was  admitted  into  the 
Union,  Boone  removed  to  Missouri, 


1797 


Inauguration  of  Adams. 


191 


Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may 
tend.  I  shall  also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country 
will  never  cease  to  view  them  with  indulgence  ;  and  that  after 
forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service,  with  an 
upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities  will  be  con 
signed  to  oblivion,  as  myself  mu-st  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of 
rest.  Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and 
actuated  by  that  fervent  love  toward  it,  which  is  so  natural 
to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his 
progenitors  for  several  generations  ;  I  anticipate  with  pleasing 
expectation  that  retreat  in  which  I  promise  myself  to  realize, 
without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence  of  good  laws  under 
a  free  government — the  ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart,  and 
the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labors,  and 
dangers." 


John  Adams's  Administration. 

1.  John  Adams,   who  had  been  the  vice-president  during 

the  whole  period  of  Washing 
ton's  administration,  was  now 
chosen  president;  and 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  Inauguration 

of  Adams, 
elected  vice-president. 

Both  gentlemen  repaired  to  Phil 
adelphia,  then  the  capital,  where, 
in  the  presence  of  the  two  houses 
of  Congress,  of  Washington,  and 
other  spectators,  including  a 
large  number  of  ladies,  the  in 
auguration  of  the  new  president 
took  place  (March  4,  1797). 

2.  The  neutral  position  taken  by  the  United  States  in  the 
wars  between  England  and  France,  deeply  offended  the  latter 
power,  and  the  ratification  of  Jay's  Treaty  by  the  American 


JOHN   ADAMS. 


192  John  Adams1  s  Administration.  1800 

Senate  greatly  increased  the  unfriendly  feeling.  The  hos 
tility  of  the  French  soon  showed  itself  in  various  ways. 
Their  vessels  at  first  insulted  the  United  States 
^u&'  ^ien>  growing  holder,  captured  our  merchant 
ships.  At  the  capital  of  France,  the  envoys  sent  by 
our  government  were  insultingly  met  by  the  French  Directory, 
and  informed  that  nothing  would  be  accomplished  until  a 
present  of  money  was  made.  It  being  intimated  that  the 
penalty  of  a  refusal  would  be  war,  Cha's  C.  Pinckney,  one  of 
the  envoys,  replied  :  "  AYar  be  it  then  !  Millions  for  de 
fence,  but  not  a  cent  for  tribute  ;"  and  this  became  the  uni 
versal  cry  of  the  American  people.  Congress  adopted  meas 
ures  to  protect  the  country  and  its  commerce  ;  and  Washing 
ton  was  once  more  called  upon  to  take  the  command  of  the 
land  forces.  Again  sacrificing  the  comforts  of  retirement, 
he  accepted  ;  but  the  army  was  never  raised,  for  the  French 
government  was  soon  afterward  overturned,  and  peace  was 
made  with  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  head  of  the  new  govern 
ment  (1800). ' 

3.  "  Washington  did  not  live  to  witness  the  restoration  of 
peace.     On   Friday   morning   (Dec.   1799),   while   attending 
to   some   improvements  upon  his  estate,  he  was  exposed  to 
a  light  rain,  by  which  his  neck  and  hair  became 
Washington  wet'     Not  aPPrehending  danger  from  this  circum 
stance,  he  passed  the  afternoon  in  his  usual  man 
ner  ;   but,  in  the  night,   was   seized  with  an  inflammatory 
affection  of  the  windpipe.     The  disease  commenced  with  a 

1  Two  acts  of  Congress,  known  as  the  "Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,'"' 
were  intended  to  counteract  the  schemes  of  the  French  Directory,  whose 
emissaries  in  this  country  abused  the  freedom  of  the  press  by  defaming 
the  administration  and  exciting  the  people  against  it.  The  president,  by 
the  "Alien  Act,"  was  authorized  to  banish  such  foreigners  as  in  his 
opinion  were  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  country.  The 
"  Sedition  Act"  provided  for  the  punishment  of  all  persons  found  guilty 
of  abusing  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press.  Both  acts  were  de 
nounced  by  the  enemies  of  the  administration  as  tyrannical,  and  their 
unpopularity,  it  was  generally  believed,  contributed  more  than  any  other 
cause  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Federal  party.  They  expired  by  their 
own  limitation. 


1799  Character  of  Washington.  193 

violent  ague,  accompanied  with  pain  in  his  throat,  a  sense 
of  stricture  in  the  same  part,  and  a  cough,  which  were  soon 
succeeded  by  fever  and  a  quick  and  laborious  respiration. 
Believing  at  the  commencement  of  his  complaint,  as 
well  as  through  every  succeeding  stage  of  it,  that  its  conclu 
sion  would  be  mortal,  he  submitted  to  the  exertions  made  for 
his  recovery,  rather  as  a  duty  than  from  any  expectation  of 
their  efficacy.  Some  hours  before  his  death,  after  repeated 
efforts  to  be  understood,  he  succeeded  in  expressing  a  desire 
that  he  might  be  permitted  to  die  without  interruption. 
After  it  became  impossible  to  get  anything  down  his  throat 
he  undressed  himself  and  went  to  bed,  there  to  die.  To  his 
friend  and  physician,  Doctor  Craik,  who  sat  on  his  bed  and 
took  his  head  in  his  lap,  he  said  with  difficulty  :  *  Doctor,  I 
am  dying,  and  have  been  dying  for  a  long  time,  but  I  am 
not  afraid  to  die. '  At  half-past  eleven  on  Saturday  night, 
when  retaining  the  full  possession  of  his  intellect,  he  expired 
without  a  struggle  (Dec.  14,  1799)." 

4.  "  Though  a  hundred  crooked  paths  may  conduct  to  a 
temporary  success,  the  one  plain  and  straight  path  of  public 
and  private  virtue  can  alone  lead  to  a  pure  and  lasting  fame 
and  the  blessings  of  posterity.  Born  beneath  an 
humble  but  virtuous  roof,  brought  up  at  the  knees 
of  a  mother  not  unworthy  to  be  named  with  the 
noblest  matrons  of  Rome  or  Israel,  the  good  boy,  as  she  de 
lighted  to  call  him,  passed  uncorrupted  through  the  tempta 
tions  of  the  solitary  frontier,  the  camp,  and  the  gay  world, 
and  grew  up  into  the  good  man.  ...  I  cast  my  eyes 
along  the  far-stretching  galleries  of  history,  still  echoing  to 
the  footsteps  of  the  mighty  dead.  I  behold  with  admiration 
the  images  and  the  statues  of  the  great  and  good  men  with 
which  they  are  adorned  ;  I  see  many  who  deserved  well  of 
their  country  in  civil  and  military  life,  on  the  throne,  in 
the  council-chamber,  on  the  battle-field,  while  they  lived, 
wreathed  with  well-worn  laurels  and  scarred  with  honest 
wounds.  Hampden  and  William  of  Orange,  Robert  Bruce 


194 


Jefferson' s  Administration. 


1801 


and  King  Alfred  ;  and,  in  the  olden  times,  Cato,  and  Tully, 
and  Demosthenes,  and  Ti-mo'-le-on,  and  E-pam-i-non'-das  ; 
but  I  behold,  in  the  long  line,  no  other  Washington." 

5.  The  sor 
rowful  news 
was  convey 
ed  to  all 
parts  of  the 
land.  Every 
heart  was 
sad.  In  Con 
gress,  fitting 
honors  were 
paid  to  the 
memory  of 
t  h  e  man 
who,  .in  the 
language  of 

the  oration  pronounced  by  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  was  "  first 

£  nation    in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 

mourns,     countrymen."     His  mortal  remains  rest  at  Mount 

Vernon  ; 1  and  to  this  day  the  steamers  that  ply  upon  the 

Potomac  strike  mournful  notes  upon  their  bells  as  they  pass 

the  spot  where  Washington  spent  the  happiest  days  of  his 

life,  and  where  he  died  and  was  buried. 


UNT   VEKNON. 


Jefferson's  A aministration, 

1.  Adams  was  president  only  four  years.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  term  a  fierce  struggle  took  place  between  the  two 
great  political  parties  of  the  day,  the  Federalists  and  the 
Republicans,  which  resulted  finally  in  the  choice  of  Thomas 

1  Mount  Vernon  is  situated  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Potomac,  fifteen 
miles  from  Washington  city.  The  place,  comprising  the  mansion,  the 
tomb,  and  two  hundred  acres  of  the  original  estate,  was  sold  by  a  nephew 
of  George  Washington  to  the  "Ladies'  Mount  Vernon  Association"  for 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  is  the  design  of  the  Association  to 
hold  it  forever  as  a  place  of  public  resort  and  pilgrimage. 


1803  Admission  of  Ohio.  195 

Jefferson  for  president,  and  Aaron  Burr  for  vice-president.1 
Jefferson  was  anxious  that  the  cere 
monies  of  his  inauguration 

should   be   few  and  simple.  Inauguration 

i       of  Jefferson. 
An  English  gentleman  who 

was  present  thus  wrote  of  his  appear 
ance  on  the  occasion  :  "  His  dress  was  of 
plain  cloth,  and  he  rode  on  horseback 
to  the  Capitol,  dismounted  without  as 
sistance,  and  hitched  the  bridle  of  his 
horse  to  the  palisades."  The  inaugura 
tion  took  place  in  the  city  of  Washing 
ton,  the  nation's  new  capital  (March  4, 

THOMAS    JEFFERSON.  _v  ,  .  __ 

1801),  to  which  place  the  public  offices 
had  been  removed  the  year  before. 

2.  As  previously  stated,  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio  river 
was  organized  under  the  name  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 
The  south-eastern  part  of  this  territory  was  the  first  that  was 
set  apart  for  State  purposes,  and,  in  1803,  it  was        ^he 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  the  State  of  Ohio.     A   "th  state- 
large   portion   of    the   land   so    set  apart,    along    and   near 
Lake  Erie,  and  known  as  the  Western  or  Connecticut   Re 
serve,  had   previously   belonged   to  Connecticut.2     This  (in 

1  There  was  no  choice  by  the  electors,  and  consequently  the  election 
went  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  where,  after  a  week's  contest, 
Jefferson  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  majority  of  the  States   in  his 
favor,     Jefferson    and   Burr  were  Republican   candidates.     Under  the 
original  clause  of  the  Constitution  providing  for  the  election  of  president 
and  vice-president,  the  electors  voted  for  two  persons,  without  naming 
their  choice  for  the  higher  position,"  the  person  haying  the  greatest  num 
ber  of  votes"  being  declared  president,  and  the  next,  vice-president. 
John  Adams  was  a  candidate  of  the  Federalists  for  a  second  term. 

2  "  The  charter  of  Connecticut  was  derived  from  the  Plymouth  Com 
pany.     This  grant  was  made  in  1621,  in  the  most  ample  form,  covering 
the  country  west  of  Connecticut,  to  the  extent  of  its  breadth,  from  sea  to 
sea.     New  Netherlands,  being  then  a  Dutch  possession,  could  not  be 
claimed  as  a  portion  of  this  munificent  grant,  if  for  no  other  reason,  for 
the  very  good  and  substantial  one  that  in  the  grant  to  the  Plymouth 
Company  an  exception  was  made  of  all  such  portions  of  the  territory  as 
were  '  then  actually  possessed  or  inhabited  by  any  other  Christian  prince 
or  State.'  " — Stone's  History  of  Wyoming, 


196  Jefferson's  Administration.  1803 

1795)  was  sold  to  a  company  of  speculators,  and,  at  the  time 
of  Ohio's  admission  to  the  Union,  more  than  a  thousand 
settlers  were  already  established  on  the  Reserve.  The  money 
so  received  by  Connecticut  was  the  original  capital  of  her 
school  fund. 

3.  In  the  spring  of  1803,  while  Jefferson  was  preparing  to 
send  an  expedition  under  Lewis  and  Clarke,  to  explore  the 
Missouri   river  and  its  head  branches,  and  thence  to  find  a 

water  communication  across  the  continent  to  the 
Pacinc>  ^  suc^  existed,  the  news  reached  this 
country  that  France,  for  fifteen  millions  of  dol 
lars,  had  ceded  the  whole  of  the  Louisiana  territory  to  the 
United  States.  .  "  The  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  rivers, 
with  their  hundred  tributaries,  give  to  the  great  central 
basin  of  our  continent  its  character  and  destiny.  The  outlet 
of  this  mighty  system  lies  through  the  State  of  Louisiana. 
The  ancient  province  so  called,  the  proudest  monument  of 
the  mighty  monarch  whose  name  it  bears,  passed  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  France  to  that  of  Spain  in  1763.  Spain 
coveted  it,  not  that  she  might  fill  it  with  prosperous  colonies 
and  rising  states,  but  that  it  might  stretch  as  a  broad  waste 
barrier,  infested  with  warlike  tribes,  between  the  Anglo- 
American  power  and  the  silver  mines  of  the  West.  With  the 
independence  of  the  United  States,  the  fear  of  a  still  more 
dangerous  neighbor  grew  upon  Spain,  and  in  the  insane  ex 
pectation  of  checking  the  progress  of  the  Union  westward,  she 
threatened,  and  at  times  attempted,  to  close  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  on  the  rapidly  increasing  trade  of  the  West. 

4.  The  bare  suggestion  of  such  a  policy  roused  the  popula 
tion  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  then  inconsiderable,  as  one 
man.     This  subject  was  for  years  the  turning  point  of  the 
politics   of  the  West,  and  it   was  perfectly  well  understood, 
that,  sooner  or  later,    she  would  be   content   with  nothing 
less    than    the    sovereign    control    of    the     mighty   stream 
from   its   head   spring  to   its   outlet  in  the  Gulf.     So  stood 
affairs    at  the   close  of  the  last  century,   when  the  colos- 


1803  Purchase  of  Louisiana.  197 

sal  power  of  the  first  Napoleon  burst  upon  the  world. 
In  the  vast  recesses  of  his  Titanic  ambition,  he  cherished  as 
a  leading  object  of  his  policy,  to  acquire  for  France  a  colonial 
empire  which  should  balance  that  of  England.  In  pursuit  of 
this  policy,  he  fixed  his  eye  on  the  ancient  regal  colony  which 
Louis  XIV.  had  founded  in  the  heart  of  North  America,  and 
he  tempted  Spain  by  the  paltry  bribe  of  creating  a  kingdom 
for  a  Bourbon  prince,  to  give  back  to  France  the  then  bound 
less  waste  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana.  The  cession  wras 
made  by  the  secret  treaty  of  1800,  of  which  one  sentence  only 
has  ever  been  published,  but  that  sentence  gave  away  half  a 
continent. 

5.  The  youthful  conqueror  then  concentrated  all  the  re 
sources  of  his  mighty  genius  on  the  accomplishment  of  his 
vast  project.      If  successful,   it  would  have  established  the 
French  power  at  the  mouth  and  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  would  have  opposed  the  most  formidable 
barrier  to  the  expansion  of  the  United  States.     The  peace  of 
Amiens  (am'-e-em),  at  this  juncture,  relieved  Napoleon  from 
the  pressure  of  the  war  with  England,  and  every  thing  seemed 
propitious  to  the  success  of  the  great  enterprise.     The  fate  of 
America  trembled  for  a  moment  in  a  doubtful  balance,  and 
five  hundred  thousand  citizens  in  that  region  felt  the  danger 
and  sounded  the  alarm.     But  in  another  moment  the  aspect 
of  affairs  was  changed  by  a  stroke  of  policy,  grand,  unex 
pected,  and  fruitful   of  ^consequences  perhaps  without  a  par 
allel  in  history. 

6.  The  short-lived  truce  of  Amiens  was  about  to  end,  the 
renewal  of  war  was  inevitable.     Napoleon  saw  that  before  he 
could  take  possession  of  Louisiana  it  would  be  wrested  from 
him  by  England,  who  commanded  the  seas,  and  he  determined 
at  once,  not  merely  to  deprive  her  of  this  magnificent  con 
quest,  but  to  contribute,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  build  up  a 
great  rival  maritime  power  in  the  West.     The  government  of 
the   United   States,  not   less    sagacious,    seized   the    golden 
moment — a  moment  such  as  does  not  happen  twice  in  a  thou- 


108  Jefferson  *  Administration.  1803 


sand  years.  Mr.  Jefferson  perceived  that,  unless  acquired  by 
the  United  States,  Louisiana  would  in  a  short  time  belong  to 
France  or  to  England,  and  with  equal  wisdom  and  courage 
he  determined  that  it  should  belong  to  neither.  True,  he 
held  the  acquisition  to  be  unconstitutional,  but  he  threw  to 
the  winds  the  resolutions  which  had  just  brought  him  into 
power  ;  he  broke  the  Constitution  and  he  gained  an  empire." 

7.  In  the  same  year  (1803),  an  expedition  was  sent  to  the 
Mediterranean  to  repress  the  piracies  of  the  Barbary  States, 
which  powers  constantly  sent  out  armed  vessels  to  capture  the 

War  with  mercnan^  ships  of  other  nations,  and  make  slaves 
the  Barbary  of  their  crews.     It  was  a  common  custom  for  na- 
States,      tjons  to  pay  tribute  to  these  states  to  obtain  free 
dom  from  their  attacks.     This,  however,  did  not  restrain  their 
hostility  and  insolence  ;  and  a  fleet  under  Commodore  Preble 
(preb'-el)  was  sent  against   them.     Preble  first  entered  the 
port  of  Morocco,  and,  after  exacting  terms  of  the  emperor, 
sailed  for  Tripoli  (trip'-o-le)  ;  but,  before  his  arrival,  a  serious 
accident  had  occurred. 

8.  One    of    his    ships,    the  frigate    "  Philadelphia,    pro 
ceeding  to  Tripoli,    while   standing  close  in  shore  under  a 
heavy  press   of   sail,  in   pursuit   of  a  vessel  attempting   to 
ontci'  the   harbor,   ran   with   terrific   force   upon   a   sunken 
rock,  upon  which,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  set  her  free,  she 
remained  fixed.     While  her  crew  were  engaged  in  attempts  to 
get  her   off,  she  was  attacked  by  a  flotilla  of  Tripolitan  gun- 

1  A  careful  examination  of  the  treaties  between  France  and  Spain, 
and  France  and  the  United  States,  and  of  all  the  diplomatic  correspond 
ence  and  congressional  debates,  with  reference  to  the  western  limits  of 
the  "  Louisiana  Purchase,"  leads  us  to  the  conclusion  which  Mr.  Green- 
how  had  previously  reached,  and  had  expressed  in  his  "  History  of  Ore 
gon  and  California."  His  book,  be  it  remembered,  was  published  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  Senate.  Mr.  Greenhow  says  :  "  How 
far  Louisiana  extended  westward  when  it  was  ceded  by  France  to  Spain, 
history  offers  no  means  of  determining.  In  the  absence  of  all  light 
on  the  subject  from  history,  we  are  forced  to  regard  the  boundaries 
indicated  by  nature,  namely,  the  highlands  separating  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  from  those  flowing  into  the  Pacific,  MS  the' true  western  boun 
daries  of  the  Louisiana  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  France  in  1803." 


1804 


Exploit  of  Lieutenant  Decatur. 


199 


boats.  Most  of  her  guns  were  thrown  overboard,  and  her 
anchors  and  foremast  were  cat  away,  but  still  she  remained 
fast.  Holes  were  then  bored  in  her  bottom  and  her  pumps 
choked,  after  which,  having  stood  the  fire  of  the  gunboats  all 
day,  her  commander  submitted  to  the  disagreeable  necessity 
of  striking  his  flag.  The  Tripolitans,  after  great  exertions, 
no  American  cruiser  being  there  to  molest  them,  succeeded  in 
getting  the  Philadelphia  off  and  towing  her  into  the  harbor 
(Oct.  31,  1803)." 

9.  The  Tripolitans  soon  began  to  fit  out  for  sea  their  valu 

able  prize.  A  plan  for  her  de 
struction  was  therefore  resolved 
upon,  but  more  than  Ex  loit 
three  months  passed  of  Lieutenant 
before  it  could  be  put  Decatur- 
into  execution.  Lieutenant  (af 
terward  Commodore)  "  Decatur 
undertook  the  task,  and  the  cap 
ture  of  a  small  Tripolitan  vessel 
bound  to  Constantinople  with  a 
present  of  female  slaves  for  the 
sultan,  gave  him  the  first  facil- 
DECATUK  ity.  The  captured  vessel  was 

taken   into    service,    and  named 

the  Intrepid.  Manned  by  volunteers,  the  Intrepid,  as  even 
ing  came  on,  favored  by  a  light  breeze,  stood  directly  into 
the  harbor.  About  midnight  she  began  to  approach  the 
Philadelphia,  directly  towards  which  she  steered,  all  except 
two  or  three  of  her  crew  lying  fiat  upon  the  deck. 

10.  So  far  all  had  passed  without  exciting  the  slightest 
suspicion  ;  but  just  as  the  Intrepid  touched  the  side  of  the 
Philadelphia,  an  alarm  was  raised  by  the  Turks.     The  Amer 
icans,   however,    boarded   in   an   instant,    and   the   frigate's 
guard,  after  a  moment's  resistance,   were    driven  over  her 
opposite  side,  a  few  being  killed,  but  most  of  them  jumping 
into    the    water.      With    equal    promptitude,  combustibles, 


200 


Jefferson"  s  Administration. 


1804 


already  prepared,  were  hurried  on  board,  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  the  frigate  was  in  a  blaze.  The  burning  ship 
lighted  up  the  whole  harbor  like  day  ;  and  as  the  heat  increased, 
her  guns,  which  were  loaded  and  shotted,  began  to  explode. 
But  the  Intrepid  swept  on  unharmed  till  she  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor,  where  she  found  boats  ready  to  aid  in 
towing  her  oft'  (Feb.  1,  1804)."  A  treaty  was  soon  afterward 
made  with  the  bashaw. 

11.  A  political   quarrel  between  the  Tice-president,  Bur]*, 
and  Alexander  Hamilton,  that  had 

its  roots  in  a  long  strife  between 

Death  of      ^6   ^W0  men>  ^  *°  a 
Hamilton  in  duel.     They  met,  with 

a  ue '  their  seconds,  at  a  se 
cluded  spot  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  opposite  New  York 
City.  "  The  word  was  given. 
Burr  raised  his  pistol,  took  aim, 
and  fired.  Hamilton  sprang  up 
on  his  toes  with  a  convulsive  move 
ment,  reeled  a  little,  involuntarily 
discharged  his  pistol,  and  then  fell 
forward  headlong  upon  his  face." 

12.  "  On  the  day  of  Hamilton's  funeral,  the  whole  city  of 
New  York  was  in  mourning.     The  procession  which  followed 
him  to  the  grave  comprised  men  of  every  degree,  without  dis 
tinction   of   parties.     The   minute-guns   from   the   batteries 
were  answered  by  the  French  and  British  ships-of-war  in  the 
harbor.     On  the  steps  of  Trinity  Church,  (rouverneur  Morris, 
with  the  four  sons  of  the  deceased  by  his  side,  pronounced  a 
solemn   oration  in   memory  of  his  slaughtered  friend  ;  and 
when  they  had  laid  him  in  the  earth,  and  the  parting  volley 
had  been  fired  over  his  remains,  the  vast  crowd  dispersed   in 
silence,  and  each  man  carried  to  his  home  the  impression  of 
a  profound  grief  (1804)." 

13*  Burr,  of  course,  lost  all  his  political  influence.     Two 


HAMILTON. 


Next  day  he  died. 


1807 


Fulton's  First  Steamboat. 


201 


AARON  BURR. 


years  after  the  duel,  lie  became  engaged  in  organizing  a  secret 
expedition  at  the   West,  which  was   suspected  of  being  of 

a  treasonable  character.       T  .  . 
He    was     arrested     and   of  Burr  for 
tried,    but    though    ac 
quitted  of  the  charge  of  treason,  i 
was  generally  believed  that  he  wa;: 
guilty  of  an  intention  to  dismember 
the  Union  by  separating  the  West 
ern  from  the  Atlantic  States,   and 
founding    an    independent   empire 
beyond   the  Alleghany   mountains, 
over  which  he  might  bear  rule. 

14.  In  1807,  the  little  steamboat 
Clermont  was  constructed  under  the 
direction  of  Robert  Fulton.  John 

Fitch  and  James  Ramsey,  both  Americans,  had  already  made 
successful  experiments  in  steamboat  building,  but 
this  boat,  the  Clermont,  was  destined  to  be  historic. 
Fulton,  in  giving  an  account  of  his  labors,  said  : 
"  When  I  was  building  my  first  steamboat  at  New  York,  the 
project  was  viewed  by  the  pub 
lic  critics  with  indifference,  or 
with  contempt,  as  a  visionary 
scheme.  My  friends,  indeed, 
were  civil,  but  they  were  shy. 
As  I  had  occasion  to  pass  daily 
to  and  from  the  building-yard 
while  my  boat  was  in  progress, 
I  have  often  loitered  unknown 
near  the  idle  groups  of  strang 
ers,  gathered  in  little  circles, 
and  heard  various  inquiries  as 
to  the  object  of  this  new  vehi 
cle.  The  language  was  uniformly  that  of  scorn,  or  sneer,  or 
ridicule.  The  loud  laugh  often  rose  at  my  expense.  The  dry 


ROBERT  FULTON. 


202 


Jefferson1  s  Administration. 


1807 


Jest,  the  wise  calculation  of  losses  and  expenditures,  and  the 
dull  repetition  of  the  '  Fulton  folly/  seemed  to  have  no  end. 
Never  did  a  single  encouraging  remark,  a  bright  hope,  or  a 
warm  wish,  cross  my  path.  Silence  itself  was  but  politeness, 
veiling  its  doubts  or  hiding  its  reproaches. 

15.  At  length  the  day  arrived  when  the  experiment  was 
to  be  put  into  operation.  To  me  it  was  a  most  trying  occa 
sion.  The  moment  came  in  which  the  word  was  to  be  given 


FULTON'S  rntsr  STEAMBOAT. 

for  the  vessel  to  move.  My  friends  were  in  groups  on  the 
deck.  There  was  anxiety  mixed  with  fear  among  them. 
They  were  silent,  and  sad,  and  weary.  I  read  in  their  looks 
nothing  but  disaster,  and  almost  repented  of  my  efforts.  The 
signal  was  given,  and  the  boat  moved  a  short  distance,  and 
then  stopped.  To  the  silence  of  the  preceding  moment  now 
succeeded  murmurs  of  discontent,  and  agitations,  and  whis 
pers,  and  shrugs.  I  could  hear  distinctly  repeated,  '  I  told 
you  it  would  be  so — it  is  a  foolish  scheme — I  wish  we  were 
well  out  of  it. ' 

16,  I  elevated  myself  upon  a  platform  and  addressed  the 
assembly.  I  stated  that  I  knew  what  was  the  matter  ;  and 
if  they  would  be  quiet,  and  indulge  me  for  a  half-hour,  I 


1807  British  Aggressions.  203 

Would  either  go  on  or  abandon  the  voyage  for  that  time. 
This  short  respite  was  conceded.  I  went  below,  and  examined 
the  machinery,  and  discovered  that  the  cause  was  a  slight 
maladjustment  of  some  of  the  work.  In  a  short  period  it 
Was  obviated*  The  boat  was  again  put  in  motion.  She  con 
tinued  'to  move  on,  but  all  my  friends  were  still  incredulous. 
None  seemed  willing  to  trust  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses. " 

17.  "  She  had  the  most  terrific  appearance,  from    other 
vessels  which  were  navigating  the  river.     The  first  steamboats 
used  dry  pine  wood  for  fuel,  which  sends  forth  a  column  of 
ignited  vapor  many  feet  above  the  flue, and  when- 

ever  the  fire  is  stirred  a  galaxy  of  sparks  fly  off,  and  Clermont  was 
in  the  night  have  a  very  brilliant  and  beautiful  ap-  re&ardedi 
pearance.  This  light  of  the  Clermont  first  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  the  crews  of  other  vessels.  Notwithstanding  the 
wind  and  tide  were  adverse  to  its  approach,  they  saw  with 
astonishment  that  it  was  rapidly  coming  towards  them  ;  and 
when  it  came  so  near  that  the  noise  of  the  machinery  and 
paddles  was  heard,  the  crews  (if  what  was  said  in  the  news 
papers  of  the  time  be  true)  in  some  instances  shrunk  beneath 
their  decks  from  the  terrific  sight,  others  deserting  their  ves 
sels  escaped  to  the  shore,  while  others  prostrated  themselves 
and  besought  Providence  to  protect  them  from  the  approaches 
of  the  horrible  monster  which  was  marching  on  the  tides  and 
lighting  its  path  by  the  fires  which  it  vomited."  The  trip, 
from  the  city  of  New  York  to  Albany,  was  completed  in 
thirty-six  hours.  "  Even  then  it  was  doubted  whether  it  could 
be  made  again,  or,  if  it  could,  whether  it  would  be  of  any 
great  value." 

18.  England  and  France  were  at  war  at  this  time  ;  and 
while  they  were  making  prizes  of  each  other's  vessels,  the 
American  ships  were  finding  full  employment  in  carrying 
merchandise  to  the  ports  of    both  nations.     To 
completely  destroy  the  commerce  of  France,   the 

British  government  declared  the  ports  of  France 

to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade.     JNapoleon   Bonaparte,  who  was 


204  Jefferson- s  Administration,  1807 

at  the  head  of  the  French  government,  declared  a  blockade  of 
the  British  islands.  These  decrees,  in  effect,  closed  Europe 
against  American  commerce.  Our  vessels  were  captured^  and 
our  merchants  consequently  suffered  grievous  losses. 

19.  A  still  greater  grievance  of  the  Americans  was  the  so- 
called  "  right  of    search/7  by  which  Great  Britain  claimed 
the  right  to  search  American  vessels  on  the  ocean,  and  take 
from  them  all  sailors  of  English  birth,  for  the  purpose  of  im 
pressing  them — that  is,  compelling  them  to  serve  in  the  Brit 
ish  navy.     This  claim  was  based  upon  the  doctrine  that  a 
person  born  on  English  soil  is  always   an  English   subject. 
He  may  go  to  the   country  of  another  nation,  he  may  reside 
there  many  years, — even  to  the  end  of  his  days, — still  he  is  a 
British  subject.     The  United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  have 
always  held  to  the  doctrine' that  men  may  give  up  the  citizen 
ship  which  they  inherited,  and    transfer   their   allegiance   to 
other  countries. 

20.  As  these  doctrines  were  in  conflict,  it  followed  that 
when  the  news  reached  the  United  States  that  British  ships- 
of-war  had  stopped  American  merchantmen  on  the  high  seas 
and  impressed  their  seamen,  a  war-spirit  broke  out.     The  cry 
of  "  Free  Trade   and  Sailors'   Rights"   resounded  in  every 
American  port.     As  fresh  outrages  were    perpetrated,1  this 
spirit  grew  stronger  and  more  determined,  and  spread  to  every 
part  of  the  country.     "  In  passing  from  town  to  town,  the 
traveler   saw  groups  of  angry  men  discussing  and  denouncing 
the  tyranny  of  England."     It  was  known  that  more  than  six 
thousand  American  sailors  had  been  seized  by  British  war 
ships,  and  pressed  into  the  hated  service  of  a  hated  nation. 

1  In  the  summer  of  1807,  an  event  occurred  which  greatly  increased 
the  popular  excitement  against  England.  The  British  frigate  Leopard, 
cruising  in  American  waters,  demanded  permission  to  search  the  Ameri 
can  frigate  Chesapeake,  theu  off  the  coast  of  Virginia,  alleging  that  there 
were  British  deserters  on  board.  As  this  was  refused,  she  fired  into  the 
Chesapeake,  and  the  latter,  being  unprepared  for  action,  struck  her  col 
ors,  after  having  twenty-one  of  her  crew  killed  or  wounded.  Four  per- 
s^ns,  asserted  to  be  deserters,  were  then  carried  on  board  the  Leopard, 
but  three  of  them,  as  was  afterwards  proved,  were  native  Americans. 


1808  The  Embargo.  205 

21.  Our  government  remonstrated,  but  in  vain.  It  then 
undertook  to  retaliate  by  laying  an  embargo  upon  American 
vessels — that  is,  prohibiting  them  from  sailing  to  foreign 
ports.  The  law  also  prohibited  all  foreign  ships  The 
from  carrying  cargoes  from  American  ports.  Embargo. 
This  sudden  suspension  of  commerce,  while  it  inflicted  dam- 
uge  on  France  and  England,  especially  the  latter,  inflicted 
greater  damage  upon  the  United  States,  for  "  the  embargo 
shut  ourselves  out  from  the  trade  of  the  whole  world.  It  only 
cut  off  England  from  that  of  the  United  States.  The  loud 
outcries  from  the  opponents  of  the  measure,  especially  from 
New  England,"  made  the  administration  unpopular,  the  act 
was  repealed,  and  a  non-intercourse  law,  prohibiting  all  com 
merce  with  France  and  England,  substituted. 

Madison's  A dministration. 

1.  Jefferson  served  two  terms.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
second,  in  imitation  of  the  example 
set  by  Washington,  he  declined  to  be 
a  candidate  again,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  James  Madison,  of  The  4th 
Virginia,  the  candidate  of  Resident, 
the  Anti-Federalists,  or,  as  they  were 
then  called,  the  Republicans.  This  was 
the  same  party,  in  most  part,  that  had 
elected  and  supported  Jefferson.  The 
new  president's  administration  began 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1809. ! 

2.  As  the  British  still  continued  their 

MADISON.  . 

unjust  claims   and  measures,   Congress 

1  Before  Madison  became  president,  the  Indians  on  the  western  fron 
tier,  influenced  by  British  emissaries,  and  led  on  by  their  great  chief 
Tecumseh,  began  to  form  a  confederacy  against  the  United  States._  To 
check  their  hostilities,  General  Harrison  was  sent  to  the  West,  and  in  the 
important  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  the  western  part  of  Indiana,  while 
Tecumseh  was  absent,  defeated  them  with  great  loss  (1811), 


206 


Madison's  Administration. 


1812 


declarjd  war  against  Great  Britain  in  June,  1812.     General 
War  declared  Hull?  the  governor  of  Michigan   Territory,    who 


—Invasion 
of  Canada. 

less  than 


DETROIT 


had  served  with  credit  in  the  war  of  the  .Revolu 
tion,  was  at  the  time  marching  with  a  force  of 
two  thousand  men  from  Ohio  to  Detroit.  His 

object  was  to  defend  the 
northwestern  frontier 
from  the  Indians.  While 
on  the  march  he  received 
news  of  the  declaration 
of  war.  Arriving  at  De 
troit,  which  then  con 
tained  about  eight  hun 
dred  inhabitants,  he 
crossed  the  river  and  thus 
invaded  Canada.  After 
some  operations  of  little 
importance,  he  recrossed 
the  river  and  took  post 
at  Detroit.  Here  he  was 
besieged  by  a  large  force 
of  British  and  Indians,  and,  though  his  troops  felt  confident 
of  victory  in  the  expected  battle,  he  ordered  a  white  flag  to 
be  hoisted,  and  gave  up  the  place  without  striking  a  single 
blow. l 

3.  During  the  first  year  of  the  war  the  Americans  met  with 

nothing  but  disaster  in  their  operations  on  the  land.     On  the 

ocean,  however,  several  brilliant  victories  cheered  them.  Eng- 

Victories     land,  with  her  thousand  ships,   despised  the  en- 

onthe  ocean.  emy  Wj10  came  against  her  with  less  than  twenty. 

At  sea,  England   felt   herself  omnipotent,  but   it  was   there 

1  Two  years  after,  Hull  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  pronounced 
guilty  of  cowardice,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot  ;  but,  on  account  of  his 
Revolutionary  services,  which  were  many  and  heroic,  he  was  pardoned. 
It  is  believed  at  the  present  day  by  those  who  are  well  acquainted  with 
th"  facts  in  the  case,  that  Hull  did  only  his  duty,  painful  as  it  was,  in. 
making  the  surrender,  and  that,  consequently,  the  sentence  was  unjust, 


1812  Capture  of  the  Guerriere.  207 

disaster  overtook  her.  Five  desperate  encounters  took  place) 
five  victories  remained  with  the  Americans,  five  English  war 
ships  were  taken  or  destroyed.1  England's  sovereignty  of  the 
sea  had  received  a  rude  shock. 

4.  One  of  these  encounters  took  place  near  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,     between    the    American    frigate    Constitution, 
familiarly  known  as  "  Old  Ironsides/'  commanded  by  Captain 
Hull  (nephew  of  the  general  who  had  surrendered     (jaj)ture 
Detroit  to  the   British),  and  the   British   frigate       ofthe 
Guerriere  (gdre-e-  are'},    Captain    Dacres.      "The   ^Uerri6r6k 
English  vessel  was  well  known,  for  she  had  at  one  of  her 
mast-heads  a  flag  proudly  flying  with  her  name  in  large    let 
ters  upon  it.     The  Guerriere  opened  fire  and  kept  it  up  stead 
ily  for  nearly  an  hour,  to  which  the  Constitution  replied  with 
only  an  occasional  gun.     The  Constitution  then  drew  slowly 
ahead,  and  the  moment  her  bows  began  to  lap  the  quarters  of 
the  Guerriere,  her  forward  guns  opened,  and,  in  a  few  minute 
after,  the  welcome  orders  were  received  to  pour  in  broadside 
after  broadside  as  rapidly  as  possible.     When  she  was  fairly 
abeam,  the  broadsides  were  fired  with  a  rapidity  and  power 
diat  astonished  the  enemy.     As  the  old  ship  forged  slowly 
ahead  with  her  greater  way,  she  seemed  to   be   moving  in 
flame.     The  mizzen-mast  of  the  enemy  soon  fell  with  a  crash, 
while  her  hull  waL  riddled  with  shot. 

5.  As  Hull  passed  his  antagonist  he  wheeled  short  around 
her  bows  to  prevent  a  raking  fire,  but  in  doing  this  he  came 
dead  into  the  wind,  and  his  sails  were  taken  aback.  As  the  Con 
stitution  rolled  away  on  the  heavy  swell,  the  foremast  of  the 
Guerriere  fell  back  against  the  mainmast,  carrying  that  down 
in   its   descent,    and  leaving   the   frigate  a  helpless   wreck. 
Dacres  had  fought  his  ship  well,  and,  when  every  spar  in  her 
was  down,  gallantly  nailed  the  jack  to  the  stump  of  the  miz 
zen-mast.      But  further  resistance  was   impossible,  and  he 

1  Decatur,  commanding  the  frigate  United  States,  captured  the  British 
frigate  Macedonian  ;  and  Bainbridge,  commanding  the  Constitution,  cap 
tured  the  British  frigate  Java, 


208  Madison '  s  Administration.  1812-3 

therefore  struck  her  flag.7'  The  captured  vessel  had  been  so 
much  injured  it  was  found  impossible  to  keep  her  afloat.  She 
was  consequently  set  on  fire,  and  soon  only  a  few  floating- 
planks  were  all  that  was  left  to  tell  where  that  proud  vessel 
had  sunk.  "  The  first  English  frigate  that  ever  struck  its; 
Hag  to1  an  American  ship-of-war,  had  gone  down  to  the  bot 
tom  of  the  ocean.  The  sea  never  rolled  over  a  vessel  whose 
fate  so  startled  the  world.  It  disappeared  forever^  but  it  left 
its  outline  on  the  deep,  never  to  be  effaced  till  England 
and  America  shall  be  no  mure  (Aug.  19,  1812)." 

-6.  Madison,  though  earnestly  opposed  by  the  Federalists, 
who  condemned  the  war,  was  chosen  for  a  second  term  ;  and 
it  was  then  resolved  to  prosecute  hostilities  with  vigor. 

Don't  give   But  while  the  gallantry  of  the  American  seamen 

up  the  ship,  g^j]  continued  to  be  the  theme  of  admiration, 
they  were  not  always  successful  ;  and  Engiish  sailors 
were  burning  with  eagerness  to  wipe  out  the  unlooked-for 
disgrace,  as  they  regarded  it,  which  had  fallen  upon  their 
flag.  They  blockaded  American  ports,  and,  while  doing  so, 
watched  for  opportunities  to  retrieve  the  honor  of  the  ser-. 
vice.  One  was  presented  on  the  first  of  June,  1813.  The 
frigate  Chesapeake,  Captain  Lawrence,  sailed  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Boston,  and  was  met  by  the  British  frigate  Shan 
non. 

7.  "  For  a  few  minutes  the  cannonading  was  terrific,  but 
some  of  the  rigging  of  the  Chesapeake  being  cut  t-j  pieces,  one  • 
of  the  sails  got  loose  and  blew  out,  which  brought  the  ship 
into  the  wind.  Then,  backing  on  her  enemy,  and  the  rigging 
and  an  anchor  becoming  entangled,  she  could  not  get  off. 
This,  of  course,  exposed  her  to  a  raking  fire,  which  swept  hoi 
decks."  Lawrence  fell,  mortally  wounded.  Carried  below, 
his  last  words  were,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship."  All  his 
superior  officers  were  killed  or  wounded.  Over  decks  cov 
ered  with  the  slain  and  slippery  with  blood,  the  Englishmen 
sprang  upon  the  yielding  foe.  The  American  flag  was  pulled 
down,  and,  for  the  first  time  since  the  declaration  of  war, 


1813  Perry's  Victory.  209 

the  British  flag  was  hoisted  on  a  vessel  of  the  American 
nation.  So,  exultingly  thought  England,  "  the  naval  supe 
riority  of  the  English  was  restored." 

8.  Lake  Erie  at  that  time  was  in  the  possession  of  a  British 
fleet,  but  during  the  summer  a  competing  fleet  was  fitted  out 

with  much  effort  by  Captain  (afterward 
Commodore)  Perry.  "  Per-  perry's 
ry  was  then  a  mere  youth,  victory, 
of  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  but  ar 
dent,  chivalrous,  and  full  of  energy  and 
resource.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th 
of  September  it  was  announced  that  the 
British  fleet  was  coming  out  of  Maiden, 
and  Perry,  whose  fleet  was  anchored  in 
Put-in-Bay,  a  haven  of  one  of  the  islands 
in  the  western  part  of  the  lake,  immediately  set  sail  to  meet 
it.  The  American  squadron  consisted  of  three  brigs — the 
Lawrence,  Niagara,  and  Caledonia — a  sloop,  and  five  schoon 
ers,  carrying  in  all  fifty-four  guns.  That  of  the  British 
Avas  composed  of  six  vessels,  mounting  sixty-three  guns.  It 
was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  the  light  breeze  scarcely  ruffled 
the  surface  of  the  water  as  the  twro  squadrons,  with  all  sails 
set,  slowly  approached  each  other. 

9.  The  shore  was  lined  with  spectators,  gazing  on  the  ex 
citing   spectacle,   and    watching    with    intense    anxiety  the 
movements  of  the  American  squadron.     Not  a  cloud  dimmed 
the  clear  blue  sky,  and  the  lake  lay  like  a  mirror,  reflecting 
its  beauty  and  its  purity.     Perry,  in  the  Lawrence,  led  the 
line.     Taking  out  the  flag  which  had  been  previously  pre 
pared,  and  mounting  a  gun-slide,  he  called  the  crew  about 
him  and  said  :    '  My  brave  lads,  this  flag  contains  the  last 
words  of  Captain  Lawrence.     Shall  I  hoist  it  ?'     '  Aye,  aye, 
sir/  was  the  cheerful  response.    Up  went  the  flag  with  a  will, 
and  as  it  swayed  to  the  breeze  it  was  greeted  with  loud  cheers 
from  the  deck.     As  the  rest  of  the  squadron  beheld  the  flag 
floating  from  the  mainmast  of  their  commander's  vessel,  and 


'1C  Madison's  Administration.  1813 


saw  that  '  Don't  give  up  the  ship  /'  was  to  be  the  signal  for 
action,  a  long,  loud  cheer  rolled  down  the  line. 

10.  A  single  gun,  whose  shot  went  skipping  past  the  Law 
rence,  first  uttered  its  stern  challenge,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
all  the  long  guns  of  the  enemy  began  to  play  on  the  American 
fleet.     Being  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  Perry  could  not  use 
his  carronades,  and  he  was  exposed  to  this  fire  for  half  an 
hour  before  he  could  get  within  range.     Steering  straight  for 
the  Detroit,  a  vessel  a  fourth  larger  than  his  own,  he  gave  or 
ders  to  have  the  schooners  close  up  within  half  cable's  length. 
These  orders  were  passed  by  trumpet  from   vessel  to  vessel, 
but  before  the  Lawrence  could  get  near  enough  to  open  with 
her  carronades,   the  fire  of  three  vessels  was  directed  upon 
her.     Enveloped  in  flame  and  smoke,  Perry  strove  desper 
ately  for  two    hours    in  this    unequal    contest.     The  balls 
crashed  incessantly  through  the   sides  of  the  ship,  until  at 
length,  with  '  every  brace  and  bow-line  shot  away,'  she   lay 
an  unmanageable  wreck  on  the  water.     But  still  through  the 
smoke  her  colors  were  seen  flying,  and  still  gleamed  forth  in 
the  sunlight  that  glorious  motto,  i  Don't  give  up  tlie  ship!' 

11.  Looking  through  the  smoke,  Perry  saw  the  Niagara, 
apparently  uncrippled.     Leaping  into  a  boat  with  his  young 
brother,  he  said  to  his  remaining  officer,  '  If   a  victory  is  to 
be  gained,  I  will  gain  it,'  and  standing  erect,  told  the  sailors 
to  give  way  with  a  will.     The  enemy  observed  the  movement 
and  immediately  directed  their  fire  upon  the  boat.    Oars  were 
splintered  in  the  rowers'  hands  by  musket  balls,  and  the  men 
themselves  were  covered  with  spray  from  the  round  shot  and 
grape  that  smote  the  water  on  every  side.     Passing  swiftly 
through  the  iron  storm,  Perry  reached  the  Niagara  in  safety, 
and  as  the  survivors  of  the  Lawrence  saw  him  climb  up  the 
vessel's  side,  they  gave  a  hearty  cheer. 

12.  Finding  the  Niagara  sound  and  whole,  Perry  backed  his 
main-topsail,  and  flung  out  his  signal  for  close  action.     From 
vessel  to  vessel  the  answering  signal  went  up  in  the  sunlight, 
and  three  cheers  rang  over  the  water.     He  then  gave  his  sails  to 


1813  Harrison's  Victory.  211 

the  wind  and  bore  steadily  down  on  the  centre  of  the  enemy's 
line.  Reserving  his  fire  as  he  advanced,  he  passed  along 
through  the  hostile  fleet,  within  close  pistol  range,  wrapt  in 
flames  as  he  swept  on.  Delivering  his  broadsides  right  and 
left,  and  rounding  to  as  he  passed  the  line,  he  laid  his  vessel 
close  to  two  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  poured  in  his  rapid 
fire.  The  other  vessels  of  his  fleet  having  corne  up,  the  con 
flict  at  once  became  general. 

13.  An  action  so  close  and  murderous  could  not  last  long, 
and  it  was  soon  apparent  that  victory  inclined  to  the  Ameri 
cans,  for  while  the  enemy's  fire  sensibly  slackened,  the  signal 
for  close  action  was  still  flying  from  the  Niagara  ;  and  from 
every  American  vessel  the  answering  signal  floated  proudly  in 
the  wind.  In  fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  the  first  signal 
was  made  the  battle  was  over.  A  white  handkerchief,  waved 
from  the  taffrail  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  announced  the  sur 
render.  The  firing  ceased,  and  the  smoke  slowly  cleared  away, 
revealing  the  two  fleets  commingled,  shattered,  and  torn  !" 

14:.  This  great  victory  gave  the  Americans  the  possession 
of  Michigan,  as  well  as  of  Lake  Erie.  Perry's  laconic  ac 
count  of  it  is  memorable.  He  wrote  :  "  We  have  met  the 
enemy  and  they  are  ours."1  He  suddenly  found  Harrison's 
himself  in  the  front  rank  of  heroes.  General  victory. 
Harrison  crossed  the  lake  to  Canada,  and  with  swift  and 
eager  pursuit  followed  a  large  force  of  the  enemy — British 
and  Indians — overtaking  them  at  the  Thames  river.  The 
Americans  charged,  broke  the  lines  of  the  British,  and 
compelled  them  to  surrender  ;  but  the  contest  with  the  In 
dians  was  obstinate.  At  length  their  chief,  the  celebrated 
Tecumseh,2  fell  and  they  fled.  The  war  on  the  western 
frontier  was  ended  (Oct.,  1813). 

1  This  dispatch  ranks  with  the  celebrated  one,  /  came,  I  saw,  I  con 
quered,  sent  by  the  great  Uoman  general,  Caesar,  after  a  great  victory. 

3  Tecumseh  had,  several  months  before,  visited  the  Creek  Indians,  at 
the  South,  and  incited  them  to  take  up  arms  against  the  whites.  Fifteen 
hundred  of  their  warriors  surprised  Fort  Minis,  in  Alabama,  and  mas 
sacred  nearly  three  hundred  persons  (August  1813).  General  Jackson 
attacked  them  at  To-ho-pe'-ka,  completely  routed  them,  and  thus  ended 
the  war  (March,  1814), 


212 


Madison''  s  Administration. 


1814 


15.  Two  campaigns  from  New  York  against  Canada  had 
been  put  into  execution,  but  they  ended  in  failure.1     A  third 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  General   Brown.      The 
Invasion    Americans    crossed  the  Niagara  river,   captured 
of  Canada.    porfc   Erie  without  a  struggle,  and  at  Chippewa 
(chip1 -pe-waw)    gained    a   brilliant  victory    (July  5,    1814). 
About  three  weeks  later,  while  advancing  from   Chippewa, 
they  were  attacked   at    Lundy's  Lane.      Lieutenant  (after 
ward  General)   Scott,  who 
led    the   advance,    bravely 
contended  against  superior 
numbers  until  the   arrival 
of  the  main  body.     It  soon 
became  evident  that  a  bat 
tery  which  the  enemy  held 
on  a   height,    and    which 
swept  all  parts  of  the  field, 
must  be  captured,  or  the 
Americans     be     defeated. 
Brown,  turning  to  Colonel 
Miller,    asked    him   if    he 
could  take  it.    "I  will  try, 
sir/7  was  the  brief  reply  of 


the  fearless  soldier  as  he 
scanned  the  frowning  hill.  He  did  try,  and,  amid  fearful 
havoc,  was  successful.  Three  times  the  enenry  attempted  to 
retake  their  lost  battery,  but  they  wore  repulsed  ar  every  as 
sault.  Finally,  at  midnight,  they  withdrew  ;  and  thus  was 
ended  the  most  obstinate  battle  of  the  war — one  more  death- 

1  Toward  the  latter  part  of  April,  1813,  General  Dearborn  crossed 
Lake  Ontario,  and  proceeded  to  attack  York.  The  troops  landed,  led  by 
General  Pike,  and  were  carrying  everything  before  them,  when  the  ene 
my's  magazine  exploded,  mortally  wounding  Pike,  and  making  sad  havoc 
among  his  men.  After  a  moment's  panic  they  moved  on,  and  were  soon 
in  possession  of  the  town.  "  Pike  was  carried  on  board  one  of  the  ships, 
and  the  last  act  of  his  life  was  to  make  a  sign  that  the  British  flag,  which 
had  been  brought  to  him,  should  be  placed  under  his  head.  America 
mourned  the  loss  of  a  gallant  officer,  a  pure  patriot,  and  a  no  tie  num." 


1814  Attack  on  Baltimore.  213 

dealing,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  engaged,  than  had  ever 
been  fought  on  the  American  continent  (July  25). 

16.  Another  victory  was  in  reserve  for  the  Americans.     A 
large  British  army  from  Canada  marched  against  Plattsburg, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  their  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain,  sailed  to 
attack  the  American  fleet,  under  Commodore  Mac-   Plattsburg 
Donough.    While  the  enemy,  from  their  batteries,     and  Lake 
commenced  the  land  attack,  their  fleet  engaged  cliamPlain- 
MacDonough's  vessels,   which  were  at  anchor  in  the  bay  of 
Plattsburg.     In  a  little  more  than  two  hours  MacDonough 
gained  a  complete  victory.     The  fire  from  the  land  batteries 
then  slackened,  and,  at  nightfall,  the  invading  army  made  a 
rapid  and  silent  retreat  (Sept.  11,  1814). 

17.  While  these  successes  at  the  North  were  gladdening 
the   hearts    of    the  Americans,   a  British  squadron   entered 
Chesapeake  bay,  and  landed  five  thousand  men  commanded 
by  General  Ross.    Meeting  with  very  little  opposi-  Washington 
tion  on  their  march,  the  troops  entered  the  city  of    inflames. 
Washington.      "  The   night  that  followed    was  one  of   dis 
may  to   the   inhabitants.      The   streets   were  crowded  with 
men,  women,  and  children,  horses,  carriages,  and  carts  loaded 
with  household  furniture — all  hastening  towards  a  wooden 
bridge  which  crosses  the  Potomac."     In  the  capitol,  chairs, 
desks,  and  books  were  piled  together  by  the  vandal  troops  of 
"  his   gracious  majesty"  King    George    the  third,   and  the 
torch  was  applied  to  the  heap.     The  flames,   passing  from 
room  to  room,  soon  wrapped  the  noble  library,  and,  bursting 
from  the  windows,  leaped  to  the  roof,  enveloping  the  edifice 
in  a  fire  that  illuminated  the  country  for  miles  around.     To 
the  president's  mansion  and  other  buildings  the  torch  was  also 
applied,  and  indiscriminate  pillage  closed  the  scene  (Aug.  24). 

18.  In  fear  of  an  uprising  of  the  people,  Ross,  on  the  fol 
lowing  day,  made  a  hasty  retreat  to  the  ships.     His  next 
design  was  against  Baltimore  ;  but  on  his  march      Attack 
thither,  he  was  slain  in  a  skirmish.     His  forces,  °n  Baltimore, 
checked  for  a  short  time  by  the  militia,  encamped  near  the  de- 


214  Madison*  s  Administration.  1814 

fenses  of  the  city,  prepared  to  co-operate  with  the  fleet,  which 
had  ascended  the  Patapsco.  Fort  McHenry,  about  two  miles 
from  Baltimore,  stood  in  the  way  of  the  fleet's  advance.  The 
vessels,  forming  in  a  semicircle,  commenced  to  bombard  the 
fort  on  the  morning  of  September  13th,  and  continued  their 
tire  until  near  the  following  morning.  No  serious  impression, 
however,  was  made  by  the  incessant  shower  of  rockets  and 
shells  ;  and  the  British,  hopeless  of  success,  withdrew.1 

19.  Florida  was  then  a  Spanish  possession,  but  the  inhabit 
ants,  instead  of  being  neutral,  gave  aid  to   the  British   by 
allowing  them  to  fit  out  expeditions   in     | 

New  Orleans  the  port  of  Pensacola.    Jack- 
saved.      gon^  the  hero  of  the  Oreek  war^ 

remonstrating  in  vain,  left  Mobile,  where 
the  British  had  been  repulsed  from  the 
fort  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and 
boldly  marched  to  Pensacola,  and  by  seiz 
ing  it  compelled  the  British  to  leave 
the  town  (1814).  Soon  after,  learning 
that  an  invasion  of  Louisiana  was  threatened,  he  hastened 
to  New  Orleans  to  put  that  city  in  a  state  of  defense. 

20.  Sir  Edward  Pakenham,  one  of  the  great  heroes  of  the 
British  army,  fresh  from  the  victorious  fields  of  Spain,  com 
manded  the  invading  force.     Jackson's   line  of  defense  ex 
tended  more  than  a  mile.     The  Mississippi  covered  his  right 
flank,    an   impassable   jungle   and   swamp  secured   his   left. 
Along  his  front  ran  a  rampart  of  earth  and  a  deep  ditch. 
The  British,  six  thousand  strong,  made  an  attack  ;  but  volley 
after  volley  was  poured  upon  them  with  such  terrible  effect 

1  It  was  during  this  bombardment  that  the  incident  occurred  which 
inspired  the  composition  of  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner."  This  national 
ode  was  written  by  Francis  S.  Key,  an  American  detained  on  board  one 
of  the  bombarding  vessels.  He  had  watched  with  painful  anxiety  dur 
ing  the  day  the  national  flag  as  it  floated  above  the  ramparts  of  the  fort ; 
and  during  the  night,  the  glare  of  the  "  bombs  bursting  in  air,"  showed 
the  stars  and  stripes  still  waving  in  triumph.  The  song  expresses  his 
exultation  at  beholding,  "  by  the  dawn's,  early  light,"  that  the  flag  still 
floated  over  the  fort. 


GULF   OF    MEXICO 


1814  The  Hartford  Convention.  215 

that  they  were  compelled  to  flee.  Pakenham  was  slain,  and 
two  thousand  of  his  men  were  killed,  wounded,  or  made 
prisoners  (Jan.  8,  1815). 1 

21.  A  large  number  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  mostly 
residents  of  ISevv  England,  as  previously  stated,  were  opposed 
to  the  war,   which    they  regarded  as  entirely  unnecessary. 
"  Many   town-meetings   were   held  in  Massachu-        The 
setts,  and,  with  great  unanimity,  addresses  and  me-     Hartford 
morials  were  sent  to  the  General  Court  of  that  Convention- 
State ;   but  as  commissioners  had  been  sent  to  Europe  for 
the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace,  it  was  judged  ad 
visable  not  to  have  any  action  upon  them  till  the  result  of  the 
negotiations  should  be  known.   But  during  the  summer  of  1814 
no  news  of  peace  arrived  ;  and,  the  distresses  of  the  country 
increasing,  and  the  sea-coast  remaining  defenseless,  the  gover 
nor  summoned  a  special  meeting  of  the  legislature,  in  which 
the  petitions  of  the  towns  were  taken  into  consideration,  and  a 
resolve  was  passed  appointing  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be 
held  in  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

22.  The  measure  of  resorting  to  a  convention  for  the  pur 
pose  of  arresting  the  evils  of  the  administration  roused  the 
jealousy  of  the  advocates  of  the  war,  and  called  forth  the 
bitterest  invectives.     The  convention,  composed  of  delegates 
from  all  the  New  England  States,  was   represented  as  a  trea 
sonable  combination,  originating  in  Boston,  for  the  purpose 
of  dissolving  the  Union.2    But    citizens  of    Boston  had  no 
concern  in  originating  the  proposal  for  a  convention.     It  was 
wholly  the  project  of  people  in  old  Hampshire  county,  Mas 
sachusetts — as  respectable  and  patriotic  Eepublicans  as  ever 
trod  the  soil  of  a  free  country  ;  and  all  the  stories  which 
have  been  circulated  respecting  the  evil  designs  of  that  con 
vention,  I  know  to  be  the  foulest  misrepresentations."     A 

1  The  frigate  Essex,   Captain  Porter,  after  a  successful  cruise,  was 
attacked  in  the  harbor  of   Valparaiso  by  two  British  vessels.     Porter 
made  a  desperate  defense,  but  at  last  was  forced  to  surrender  (1814). 

2  Dr.  Webster  is  slightly  in  error.     Only  three  States  sent  delegates  to 
the  convention.     Two  from  New  Hampshire  and  one  from  Vermont 
were  from  counties. 


216  Madison's  Administration.  1815 

report,  recommending  several  amendments  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  was  adopted  ;  and,  after  three  weeks  of  secret  session, 
the  convention  adjourned. 

23.  About  a  month  after  the  defeat  of  the  British  at  New 
Orleans — alas  !  there  was  no  Atlantic  telegraph  to  stop  the 

End  of      carnage  of  that  day  ! — the  joyful  tidings    reached 

the  war.  the  United  States  that  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been 
signed  at  Ghent  (gent),  on  the  24th  of  December,  of  the  pre 
ceding  year.  "  No  victory  ever  so  electrified  the  nation  as  the 
news  of  this  peace.  The  ship  that  bore  the  glad  intelligence 
reached  New  York  on  a  Saturday  evening,  an  hour  after 
How  dark.  In  half  an  hour  after,  Broadway  was  one 
the  news  was  living  sea  of  shouting,  rejoicing  people.  '  Peace  ! 

receive  .  peace  !  peace  !'  was  the  deep,  harmonious,  uni 
versal  anthem.  The  whole  spectacle  was  enlivened  by  a  sud 
den  inspiration.  Somebody  came  with  a  torch  ;  the  bright 
idea  passed  into  a  thousand  brains.  In  a  few  minutes  thou 
sands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  people  were  marching  about 
with  candles,  lamps,  and  torches,  making  the  jubilant  street 
appear  like  a  gay  and  gorgeous  procession.  The  whole  night 
Broadway  sang  its  song  of  peace  ;  and  the  next  day,  Sun 
day,  all  the  churches  sent  up  hymns  of  thanksgiving  for  the 
joyous  tidings. "  Expresses  were  sent  off  north  and  south 
with  the  news.  On  Monday  morning,  after  the  greatest  efforts 
of  speed,  the  rider  dashed  into  the  city  of  Boston,  where  the 
news  was  also  received  with  clamorous  rejoicings.  "  All  the 
bells  were  at  once  set  to  ringing,  find  the  schools  received  a 
holiday.  At  night  the  city  flamed  far  and  wide,  telling  the 
glorious  tale  even  to  Cape  Cod." 

24-.  "Just  as  the  late  war  had  broken  out,  the  Dey  of 
Algiers,  taking  offense  at  not  having  received  from  America 
the  precise  articles  in  the  way  of  tribute  demanded,  dismissed 
War  our  consul,  declared  war,  and  captured' an  Amer- 
with  Algiers.  jcan  vessei  reducing  her  crew  to  slavery.  Imme 
diately  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  with  England,  this 
declaration  of  war  was  reciprocated.  Efforts  were  at  once 


1815  Treaty  with  Algiers.  217 

made  to  fit  out  ships,  new  and  old,  and  before  many  weeks 
Decatur  sailed  from  New  York  with  a  fleet  of  ten  vessels. 
Two  days  after  passing  Gibraltar,  he  fell  in  with  and  cap 
tured  an  Algerian  frigate,  after  a  running  fight  of  twenty-five 
minutes.  A  day  or  two  later,  an  Algerian  brig  was  chased 
into  shoal  water  and  also  captured  (1815). " 

25.  "  On  the  28th  of  June,  the  squadron  rode  at  anchor 
in  the  bay  of  Algiers.     It  may  be  supposed  that  its  formid 
able  appearance  awakened  both  surprise  and  apprehension  in 
the  breast  of  the  Dey.     He  saw  its  power,  but  he      Treaty 
had  not  yet  heard  of  its  successes.     Little  did  he  with  Algiers, 
imagine  that   his  favorite  admiral  was  killed  and  his  best 
ship  was  a  prize.     The  captain  of  the  port  and  the  Swedish 
consul  came  on  board.     To  them  Decatur  delivered  a  letter 
from  President  Madison  for  the  Dey,  in  which  complaints 
were  made  of  the  faithless  violations  of  the  former  treaty. 
The  letter  further  expressed  the  hope  of  an  amicable  adjust 
ment  of  difficulties  without  a  continuance  of  the  war.     The 
captain  of  the  port  was  also  now  first  informed  of  the  cap 
tures,  the  account  of  which  was  confirmed  to  his  satisfaction 
by  the  prisoners  on  board. 

26.  The  letter,  the  force  which  was  on  hand  to  sustain  its 
doctrines,  and  the  losses  already  experienced  and  keenly  felt, 
soon  induced  in  the  Dey  a  more  humble  and  conciliatory 
spirit  and  demeanor  than  he    was  accustomed  to  manifest, 
toward  the  representatives  of  foreign  powers.     He  sent  an 
invitation  to  the  commissioners  whom  President    Madison 
had  appointed    to  negotiate    a  treaty,   to  visit  him   at   his 
palace,  and  there  to  make   arrangements  for  a  settlement. 
His  policy  was  to  enter  into  a  protracted  course  of  negotia 
tions,  in  order  to  gain  time,  during  which  he  might  take 
advantage  of  some  more  favorable  change  in  his  affairs.    Such 
delay  Decatur  wisely  determined  to  avoid.     The  commission 
ers,  after  consultation,  refused  to  go  on  shore,  and  declared 
that  negotiations  must  be  conducted  on  board  Decatur 's  flag 
ship.     They  also  presented  the  draft  of  a  treaty,  to  which 


218  Madison?  s  Administration.  1815 

they  declared  the  Dey  must  assent.  In  fine,  they  would  have 
his  majesty  understand  that  they  were  to  dictate  the  terms 
of  peace,  and  not  he.  This  was  high  ground  to.  take  in  treat 
ing  with  these  (the  Barbary)  states  ;  but  it  could  be,  and  was 
maintained. 

27.  The  captain  of  the  port  now  desired  that  at  least  hos 
tilities  should  cease  while  negotiations  were  going  on.     To 
this  request  Decatur  promptly  replied  :  '  Not  a   minute  :  if 
your  squadron  appears  in  sight  before  the  treaty  is  signed  by 
the  Dey  and  sent  oil  with  the  prisoners,  ours  will  capture  it.' 
After  further  discussion  and  some  slight  alterations  in  the 
terms,  the  agents  of  the  Dey  carried  the  treaty  on  shore  to 
obtain  his  consent  and  signature.     In  the  mean  time  a  corsair 
hove  in  sight,  coming  in  toward  the  harbor  close  under  the 
shore.     True  to  his  word,  Decatur  made  signal  for  the  squad 
ron  to  chase.     This  movement  of  the  fleet  hastened  matters 
on  shore,  for  soon  the  boat,  with  a  white  flag,  was  seen  com 
ing  off.     It  had  been  agreed  that  this  should  be  the  signal 
that  the  treaty  was  really  signed.      When,   then,   the  boat 
was   discovered    making    all   haste   toward   Decatur' s   ship, 
that  commander  felt  obliged  to  order  the  chase  to  be  relin 
quished. 

28.  This  treaty  secured  for  the  Americans  advantages,  in 
some  points,  over  all  other  nations,  and  in  all  respects  placed 
them  on   a  footing  with    the   most  favored.      Its  principal 
articles  provided  that  no  more  tribute  should  be  paid,  and 
that  no  Americans   should   evermore  be   enslaved."     Then, 
proceeding  to  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  Decatur  obtained  from  both 
powers  "  indemnity  for  American  vessels  captured  under  the 
guns  of  their  forts  by  British  cruisers  during  the  late  war," 

29.  Two  States  were  admitted  to  the  Union  during  the 
administration  of  Madison.     Soon  after  the  "  Louisiana  Prov 
ince"  had  become  the  property  of  the  United  States, 

18th  and  19th  its  southern   portion  was   made  the  Territory  of 

states.      Orleans,  and  this  portion,  in  1812,  was  admitted 

as  a  State?  with  the  riame  of  Louisiana,    The  Northwest  Ter- 


1817 


The  Seminole  War  and  Florida. 


219 


ritory,  after  Ohio  had  been  taken  out,  became  the  Territory 
of  Indiana,  and  the  southeastern  part  of  this  was  admitted 
as  the  State  of  Indiana,  in  1816. 


Monroe's  Administration. 

1.  Madison,  having  served  two  terms  and  declining  to  be 
,a  candidate  for  a  third,  was  succeeded  by  James  Monroe,  of 
Virginia,  the  nominee  of  the  Republicans.     "  Shortly  after 
his  inauguration    (March   4,  1817),  Monroe,  imi-     The  fifth 
tating    the    example     of    Washington,    set     out    president, 
on  a  tour  through  the  Eastern  States.     His  declaration  of 
principles  in  his  inaugural   ad 
dress  had  been  highly  satisfac 
tory  to  the   Federalists,   and  at 

Boston,  where  the  people  were 
mostly  of  that  party,  he  was  re 
ceived  with  most  elaborate 
pomp.  Embittered  and  hot- 
tempered  leaders  of  parties,  who 
for  the  last  seven  years  had  hard 
ly  deigned  to  speak  to  each 
other,  or  even  to  walk  on  the 
same  side  of  the  street,  met  now 
with  smiling  faces."  The  "  era 
of  good  feeling  "  had  come. 

2.  Monroe's  first  trouble  was  with  the  Seminoles,  of  Flori 
da,  who,  joined  by  other  Indians,  were  committing  serious 
depredations  on  the  settlements  of  Georgia.     Jackson,  who 
had  been  sent  to  repress  these  outrages,   finding        The 
that  the  Indians  were  encouraged  by  certain  per-  Seminole  war 
sons  in  Florida,  invaded  that  territory,  although  andFlorida- 
at    the    time   it     belonged    to    Spain,  with  which    country 
our   government  was   at   peace.     He   took  the   forts  at   St. 
Marks  and  Pensacola,  and  put  to  death  two  British  traders, 
who,  he  believed,  had  supplied  the  Indians  with  arms  and 


JAMES   MONROE. 


yf  Monroe's  Administration.  1820 

incited  them  to  hostilities.  This  bold  measure  at  once  threat 
ened  to  involve  the  country  in  a  war  with  Spain  ;  but  the 
difficulties  were  finally  settled  by  Spain  agreeing  to  sell 
Florida  to  the  United  States  for  five  millions  of  dollars.  A 
treaty  to  that  effect  was  signed  by  the  Spanish  minister  at 
Washington  in  1819.  This  was  not,  however,  promptly  rati 
fied  by  the  king  of  Spain,  and,  in  consequence,  Florida  did 
not  come  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States  before  1821. 

3.  During  Monroe's  administration  the  Union  was  enlarged 
by  the  admission  of  five  new  States.     Georgia  had  claimed  all 
the  domain  west  of  her  present  limits  as  far  as  the  Mississippi 

river,  but  ceding  it  to  the  general  government,  it 
'  became  the  Mississippi  Territory.  The  western 
portion  of  this  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  Mississippi 
(1817),  and  two  years  later  the  other  part  was  admitted  as 
Alabama  (1819).  The  year  before  this  last  event,  the  Terri 
tory  of  Illinois,  shorn  of  its  northern  portion,  joined  the 
Union  family  as  the  State  of  Illinois  (1818).  Maine  was  at 
that  time  what  it  had  been  all  along  from  the  colonial  period,  a 
District  of  Massachusetts,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  district 
desired  to  have  it  set  apart  as  a  separate  and  independent 
State.  They  adopted  a  constitution  and  then  made  applica 
tion  to  Congress  for  admission  into  the  Union.  An  obstacle, 
very  much  to  their  surprise,  just  then  presented  itself.  This 
was  slavery,  but  not  slavery  in  Maine  ;  it  was  slavery  in  Mis 
souri.  The  Missourians,  who  had  many  slaves,  also  asked  for 
admission  to  the  Union,  but  they  wanted  to  have  their  peti 
tion  granted  without  any  conditions  being  imposed  against 
slavery.  In  Congress  the  two  applications  were  joined  in  one 
bill  ;  but,  after  a  long  contest,  were  separated,  and  Maine  be 
came  the  twenty-third  State  of  the  Union  (1820). 

4.  As  the  people  of  the  North  were  opposed  to  any  increase 

of  the  number  and  power  of  the  slave  States,  their 

Missouri      representatives  in  Congress  endeavored  to  prevent 

Compromise.  the   a(jmission'  of   Missouri  with   its  constitution 

permitting  slavery.      The  discussion  was  long  and  violent ; 


1824 


Lafayette's  Visit  to  America* 


but,  at  length,  the  measure  known  as  the  "  Missouri  Com 
promise"  was  adopted  (1820).  By  this  it  was  provided  that 
slavery  should  be  prohibited  in  all  the  territory,  except  Mis^ 
souri,  lying  north  of  the  parallel  36°  30',  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi.  After  the  adoption  of  this  compromise,  Missouri  Was 
admitted  (1821). 1  (See  Appendix,  p.  12,  1st  clause  and  note.) 

5.  Monroe  was  president  two  terms.     Towards  the  close  of 
his  second,  an  interesting  event  took  place  in  the  visit  made 
by   Lafayette    to   this   country,     Accompanied  by  his   son, 

George  Washington  Lafayette's 
Lafayette,  he  arrived  visit- 
at  New  York,  where  he  met 
with  a  brilliant  reception. 
Proceeding  on  a  tour  through 
the  United  States,  he  was  every 
where  received  as  "  The  Nation's 
Guest."  For  more  than  a 
year,  his  journey  was  a  com 
plete  ovation — a  perpetual  and 
splendid  pageant.  "The  peo 
ple  appeared  delirious  with  joy 
and  with  anxiety  to  hail  him, 
grasp  him  by  the  hand,  and  shower  attentions  and  honors 
upon  him.  ^  he  passed  through  the  country,  every  city, 
village,  and  hamlet,  poured  out  its  inhabitants  to  meet  him. 
Celebrations,  processions,  dinners,  illumination's,  bonfires, 
parties,  balls,  serenades,  and  rejoicings  of  every  description, 
attended  his  way." 

6.  "  In  June,  1825,  he  visited  Boston,  and  on  the  17th  day 

1  The  Monroe  D:ctrine.—  An  important  event  of  Monroe's  adminis 
tration  was  the  recognition  of  the  South  American  republics,  which  had 
declared  and  maintained  their  independence  for  several  years.  This  act 
of  recognition  had  been  urged  in  Congress  with  great  ability  by  Henry 
Clay,  of  Kentucky.  The  next  year  (1833)  President  Monroe,  in  his  an 
nual  message,  declared  that,  "as  a  principle,  the  American  continents, 
by  the  free  and  independent  position  which  they  have  assumed  and 
maintained,  are  henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  future 
colonization  by  any  European  power."  This  piinciple  is  known  as  the 
"Monroe  Doctiiue." 


LAFAYETTE. 


222     Administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams.    1824 


of  the  month,  it  being  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  he  participated  in  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  corner 
stone  of  the  monument  in 
commemoration  of  that  event,, 
on  the  hill  where  the  battle 
was  fought,  Daniel  Webster 
being  the  orator  of  the  occa 
sion.  The  time  for  his  de 
parture  drew  near.  "  A  new 
frigate,  the  Brandy  wine, 
named  in  honor  of  the  gallant 
exploits  of  Lafayette  at  the 
battle  of  Brandywine,  was 
provided  by  Congress  to  con 
vey  him  to  France."  The 
farewell  scene  in  the  presi 
dent's  house,  at  Washington, 
President  Adams  being  then 

BUNKER   HIU,   MONUMENT.  ^     occupan^     wag     deeply     af_ 

fecting,  and,  amid  the  peals  of  artillery  and  the  m\isic  of  mil 
itary  bands,  an  immense  procession  accompanied  the  venera 
ble  chief  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  (1825). 


Administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 

1.  "  The  presidential  campaign  of  1824  was  more  spirited 

and  exciting  than  any  that  had  taken  place  since  the  first 

election  of    Jefferson.      Strictly  speaking,   it  could  not    be 

called  a  party  contest,  for  Monroe's  wise  and  pru- 

10th  national  dent  administration  had  obliterated  party  lines." 

election.  ^  tke  candidates,  four  in  number— John  Quincy 
Adams,  Andrew  Jackson,  Henry  Clay,  and  William  H.  Craw 
ford,— agreed  substantially  to  the  same  political  creed.  The 
struggle  was  therefore  a  personal  and  sectional  one,  more  than 
of  a  party  nature.  As  no  one  of  the  candidates  received  a 
majority  of  the  electoral  votes,  it  became  the  duty  of  the 


1826 


Death  of  Adams  and  Jefferson. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


House  of  Representatives  to  make  a  choice,  and  that  choice 

fell  upon  John  Quincy  Adams,   of  Massachusetts.     It  thus 

happened  that  Mr.  Adams  took 

the  executive  chair,  March  4th, 

1825,  which,   just  twenty-eight 

years  before,  had  been  taken  by 

his  venerated   father,  and  that 

father   still    lived,    though    his 

work  was  almost   done,  and  it 

was  not  to  be  his  privilege  long 

to  see  his  son  in  the  enjoyment 

of  this,  the  highest  office  in  the 

gift  of  his  country. 

2.  "  The  4th  of   July,  1826, 
will  long  be  memorable  for  one 

of  the  most  remarkable  coincidences  that  has  ever  taken 
place  in  the  history  of  nations.  It  was  the  fiftieth  anniver 
sary — the  '  Jubilee  ' — of  American  Independence.  Death 
Preparations  had  been  made  throughout  the  Union  of  Adams 
to  celebrate  the  day  with  unusual  pomp  and  dis-  and  Jefferson' 
play.  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  had  both  been  in 
vited  to  participate  in  the  festivities  of  the  occasion,  at  their 
several  places  of  abode.  But  a  higher  summons  awaited  them  ! 
they  were  bidden  to  a  '  jubilee  '  above,  which  shall  have  no 
end.  On  that  half-century  anniversary  of  American  Inde 
pendence,  at  nearly  the  same  hour  of  the  day,  the  spirits  of 
Adams  and  Jefferson  took  their  departure  from  earth.  Amid 
the  rejoicings  of  the  people,  the  peals  of  artillery,  the  strains 
of  music,  the  exultations  of  a  great  nation  in  the  enjoyment 
of  freedom,  peace,  and  happiness,  they  were  released  from 
the  toils  of  life,  and  allowed  to  enter  on  their  rest. 

3.  The   one   virtually  the   mover,   the  other  the   framer, 
of    the    immortal    Declaration    of    Independence — they  had 
together  shared  the  dangers  and  the  honors  of  the  revolution, 
had  served  their  country  in  various  important  and  responsible 
capacities,  had  both  received  the  highest  honors  in  the  gift  of 


224     Administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 


their  fellow-citizens,  had  lived  to  see  the  nation  to  which  they 
assisted  in  giving  birth,  assume  a  proud  stand  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth, — her  free  institutions  framed,  consoli 
dated,  tried,  and  matured,  her  commerce  hovering  over  all 
seas,  respected  abroad,  united,  prosperous,  happy  at  home, — 
what  more  on  earth  could  there  be  in  store  for  them  ? 
Together  they  had  counselled,  together  they  had  dared  the 
power  of  a  proud  and  powerful  government,  together  they 
had  toiled  to  build  up  a  great  and  prosperous  people,  together 
they  rejoiced  in  the  success  with  ^iich  a  wise  arid  good  Prov-^ 
idence  had  crowned  their  labors,  and  together,  on  their  coun 
try's  natal  day,  amid  the  loud-swelling  acclamations  of  the 
'  national  jubilee/  their  freed  spirits  soared  to  light  and  glory 
above." 

4.  The  subject  of  domestic  manufactures  engaged  a  large 
share  of  President  Adams's  attention.     In  1828  a  law  was 
passed  imposing  heavy  duties  upon  certain  imported  articles, 
the  object  being,  not  only  to  collect  a  revenue,  but 
to  encourage  and  protect  the  manufacture  of  such 
articles  in  this  country.     John  C.   Calhoun,  of  South  Caro 
lina,  vice-president  of  the  United  States,  had  been  the  most 
active  and  the  most  zealous  of  the  early  advocates  of  this  doc 
trine  ;  while  Daniel  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,    was   its   leading 
opponent. 

5.  Then  the  South  began  to 
manufacture  the  cotton  it  raised, 
instead  of  sending  it  to  the 
North  and  thence  having  it 
transported  to  England  in  Yan 
kee  ships.  A  new  vision  unfold 
ed  itself  to  New  England.  If 
the  South  could  prosper  by  run 
ning  factories,  why  could  not  the 
North  ?  Cotton-mills,  accord- 
ingly,  were  planted  in  New  England,  and  they  flourished,  for 


1828  Internal  Improvements. 


the  dull,  unintelligent  slave  labor  of  the  South  could  not 
compete  witli  the  skilful,  enterprising  free  labor  of  the  North. 
What  followed  is  apparent.  In  a  little  while  the  North  became 
the  advocate  of  a  protective  tariff  ;  the  South,  the  opponent. 
So,  too,  legislation  changed  ;  and  we  have  had  since  the 
day  when  the  first  protective  tariff  was  called  into  existence 
(1816)  to  the  present  time  (1879),  numerous  tariffs,  some  hav 
ing  for  their  special  object  protection,  others,  revenue  ;  and 
still,  with  all  our  varied  experience  we  have  not  reached  a 
definite,  permanent  policy  on  this  subject. 

6.  Adams  was  the  friend  and  promoter  of  internal  improve 
ments  ;  and  during  his  administration  more  was  done,  aided 
by  the  general  government,  to  promote  these  objects  than  in 
all  the   previous   administrations.     "  More  than      internal 
one   million  of  dollars  were  expended  in  enlarg-  improvements, 
ing  and   maintaining  the   light-house  establishment,  half   a 
million  in  completing  the  public  buildings,  two  millions  in 
erecting  arsenals,   barracks,   and  furnishing    armories  ;   up 
wards  of  three  millions  in  fortifying  the  sea-coast  ;  and  more 
than  four  millions  in  improving  the  internal  communications 
between  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  in  procuring  in 
formation,  by  scientific  surveys,  concerning  its  capacity  for 
further  improvement." 

7.  In  addition  to  all  this,  "  more  than  five  millions  of  dol 
lars  were  appropriated  to  solace  the  declining  years  of  the  sur 
viving  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  ;  and  a  million  and  a  half 
expended  in  extinguishing  the  Indian  title  to  lands,  and  de 
fraying  the  expense  of  the  removal  beyond  the  Mississippi  of 
such  tribes  as  were  unqualified  for  a  residence  near  civilized 
communities,   and  in  promoting   the    civilization  of  those, 
who,  relying  on  the  faith  of  the  United  States,  preferred  to 
remain  on  the  lands  which  were  the  abodes  of  their  fathers. 
At  the  same  time  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  was  punc 
tually  paid,  and  the  debt  itself  was  in  a  constant  course  of 
reduction." 

8.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1828,  Adams,  accompanied  by  an 


226  JacJcsort  s  Administration.  1828 

immense  number  of  persons, — members  of  Congress,  foreign 
ministers,  and  otbers — was  present  at  the  ceremony  of 
"  breaking  ground  "  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
canal.  The  year  before,  Edward  Everett,  in  an 
address  said  :  ;'  A  system  of  internal  improvement  has  been 
commenced,  which  will  have  the  effect,  when  a  little  further 
developed,  of  crowding  within  a  few  years  the  progress  of 
generations.  Already  Lake  Champlain  from  the  north,  and 
Lake  Erie  from  the  west,  have  been  connected  with  Albany. 
Delaware  and  Chesapeake  bays  have  been  united,  A  canal 
is  nearly  finished  in  the  upper  part  of  New  Jersey,  from  the 
Delaware  to  the  Hudson,  by  which  coal  is  dispatched  to  our 
market.  Another  route  is  laid  out,  across  the  same  State,  to 
connect  New  York  by  a  railroad  with  Philadelphia.  A  water 
communication  has  been  opened,  by  canals,  half-way  from 
Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg.  A  canal  of  sixty  miles  in  length 
is  open  from  Cincinnati  to  Dayton,  in  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  and 
another,  of  more  than  three  hundred  miles  in  extent,  to  con 
nect  Lake  Erie  with  the  Ohio,  is  two-thirds  completed. " 

Jackson's  Administration. 

1.  The  presidential  contest  of  1828  was  more  exciting  than 
any  that  had  preceded  it.     There 
were  two  parties  contending  for 
the  prize.    Adams  was 

llth  national  the  candidate  of  one, 
election.      which  wag  a  union  of 

Eepublicans  with  most  of  the  old 
Federalists.  Jackson  was  the 
candidate  of  the  other,  which  was 
made  up  in  most  part  of  Republi 
cans.  The  members  of  this  party 
took  the  name  of  Democrats. 
The  contest  was  exceedingly  bit-  ANDREW  JACKSON. 

ter  and  personal  ;  not  only  the  public  acts,  but  even  the  pri- 


1832  Bank  of  the   United  States. 


vate  lives  of  the  two  candidates  were  closely  scanned.  Jack 
son  was  successful  by  a  very  large  majority,  and  was  inaugu 
rated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1829.  Calhoun  was  a  second  time 
chosen  vice-president. 

2.  Adams,  like  his  predecessors,  had  refused  to  make  office- 
holding  depend  upon  politics  ;  but  Jackson  believed  in  the 
doctrine,   formulated  at  a   later   day,    that   "  to   the   victor 
belongs  the  spoils.  '  '     He,  therefore,  commenced  the  practice 
called  "  rotation  in  office,"  by  which  government     Rotation 
officials  are  removed  from  their  positions  and  the     in  °ffice, 
political  friends  of  the  president    appointed  to  the  offices. 
Jackson's  course  provoked  protest  and  abuse,  but  it  was  firmly 
persisted  in,  and  has  been  followed  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
by  all  his  successors. 

3.  In  his  first  annual  message  to  Congress,  Jackson  took 
ground  against  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  United 
States  Bank  ;  '  and  when,  notwithstanding  his  objections,  a 
bill  was  passed  to  renew  it,  he  vetoed  the  measure       Bank 
(1832).     The  next  year  he  withdrew  the  govern-      of  the 
ment  deposits  from  the  bank,  and  caused  them  to  TJmted  states- 
be  placed   in    several    of    the    State    banks,  which,  because 
they   were    thus   favored,  were    thence  spoken  of   as    "  Pet 
Banks."     This   act   caused   great   excitement;    and    a    res 
olution  of  the  Senate  declared  the  act  unconstitutional,  and 
censured  the  president.     The  State  banks  which  had  received 
the  government  funds,  increased  their  loans  to  the  merchants, 
and  money  became  so  abundant  that  the  price  of  everything 
was  advanced.     This  led  to  speculation,  all  hoping  to  become 
suddenly   rich.     Farms  were  laid  out  for  cities,  and  cut  up 
into  building  lots,  which  sold  at  fabulous  prices,  although 
those  who  bought  them  were  unable  to  build  upon  them,  or 

1  In  1791,  during  Wsshington's  administration,  the  first  bank  of  the 
United  States  was  established  by  Congress,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years. 
Its  charter  was  not  renewed.  In  1816,  the  second  bank  of  the'  United 
States  was  established,  to  exist  till  the  3d  of  March,  1836,  when  it  ceased 
to  act  under  the  charter  granted  by  Congress. 


228 


Jackson!  s  Administration. 


even  to  pay  for  them.  The  ruinous  consequences  of  this  state 
of  things  were  experienced  not  long  afterward. 

4.  The  tariff  law  of  1828  grew  every  year  more  unsatisfac 
tory  to  the  cotton-growing  States  ;  and,  though  an  act  was 
passed  removing  some  of  the  duties  on  foreign  goods,  they 

were  still  discontented.     South  Carolina  took  the 
Nullification.  -,      n  .  ...  ,,       -,  ,, 

lead  in  opposition  to  the  law,   or,   rather,  was  the 

only  member  of  the  Union  that  assumed  State  hostility  to  it. 
A  convention,  elected  by  its  vofers,  met  and  ordained  that  the 
tariff  law  was  null  and  void,  that  no  duties  should  be  paid  in 
the  State,  no  appeal  should  be  permitted  to  be  made  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  that  should  the 
general  government  attempt  to  enforce  the  law  by  collecting 
the  duties,  the  State  of  South  Carolina  would  secede  from 
the  Union  (1832). 

5.  "  The  State  resounded  with  the  noise  of  warlike  prepa 
rations.     Blue  cockades,  with  a  palmetto  button  in  the  cen 
tre,  appeared  upon  thousands  of  hats,  bonnets,  and  bosoms. 
Medals    were    struck    ere    long,    bearing    this   inscription  : 
(  John  C.  Calhoun,  First  President  of  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy. '       The    legislature    pro 
ceeded  to  fill  the  vacancy  creat 
ed  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States   by   the  election  of    Mr. 
Hayne     to     the     governorship. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  vice-president 
of  the  United  States,    was   the 
person  selected,  and  he  accepted 
the  seat.     He  resigned  the  vice- 
presidency,  and  began  his  jour 
ney  to  'Washington,   leaving  his 
State  in  the  wildest  ferment." 

6.  Jackson  acted  with  prompt 
ness  and  firmness.  He  sent  General  Scott  to  Charleston,  a 
naval  force  was  anchored  off  the  city,  and  all  the  military 
posts  in  South  Carolina  were  occupied  by  United  States 


JOHN  C.   CALHOUN. 


1836-7 


Arkansas  and  Michigan. 


229 


troops.  Then  Jackson  issued  his  celebrated  proclamation 
(December  llth,  1832),  announcing  his  determination  to  en 
force  the  law.  "  Argument,  warning,  and  entreaty  were 
blended  in  its  composition.'"  "  The  Union,"  he  said,  "  must 
and  shall  be  preserved."  These  prompt  and  decisive  measures 
had  the  desired  effect.  The  nullifiers,  as  they  were  called,  were 
restrained  ;  and,  not  long  afterward,  a  "  compromise  bill," 
providing  for  the  gradual  reduction  of  the  duties,  was  offered 

by  Henry  Clay,  accepted  by  Cal- 
houn  and  the  other  South  Caro 
lina  leaders,  and  passed  by  Con 
gress.  Thus  quiet  was  restored. 
7.  The  election  campaign  in 
1832  came  on  while  the  bank 
and  nullification  troubles  were 
at  their  height.  It  Jackson's 
was  a  decidedly  ear-  2d  election, 
nest  one.  The  country  was 
very  much  excited  and  party 
spirit  ran  high.  Jackson,  who 
was  again  the  candidate  of  the 
Democrats,  was  lauded  as  "the  hero  of  New  Orleans,"  the 
"  old  Roman,"  and,  in  allusion  to  his  toughness  as  a  soldier, 
"Old  Hickory."  Hickory  poles,  these  being  hickory  trees 
trimmed  so  as  to  leave  no  limbs  except  at  the  top,  were 
raised  at  the  great  out-door  meetings.  Every  city-ward, 
every  town,  village,  and  hamlet  had  its  hickory  pole  at  the 
head-quarters  of  the  party.  On  one  occasion  of  a  hickory- 
pole  raising  in  New  York  city,  there  was  a  Democratic  pro 
cession,  says  a  French  traveler  who  described  it,  "nearly  a 
mile  long."  Jackson  was  again  successful.  Martin  Van 
Buren,  of  New  York,  was  chosen  vice-president. 

8.  Two  States  were  added  to  the  Union  while  Jackson  was 
president.     The  first,  Arkansas,  formed  from  the 
territory  known  as   the    "Louisiana   Purchase,"   NewStates' 
was  admitted  in  1836,     The.  second,  Michigan,  formerly  a 


HENRY   CLAY. 


230  Van  Burerts  Administration.  1836 

part  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  was  admitted  in  the  early 
part  of  1837,  about  a  month  before  the  expiration  of  Jack 
son's  term  of  office.  The  Union  then  consisted  of  twenty-six 
States. 

Van  JBuren's  Administration. 

1.  The  presidential  election  in  the  fall  of  1836,  resulted  in 

the  success  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  whom  Jackson  had  favored. 

This  was  another  triumph  of  the  Democratic  party,  the  party 

The        opposed  to   rechar- 

13th  national  tering  the  Bank   of 
election. 


and  to  a  high  tariff.  The  policy 

of     Jackson's    administration 

was  thus  continued.     The  can 

didate  of  the  other  great  politi 

cal  body,  the  Whig  party,  was 

General  William  Henry  Harri 

son,  of  Ohio,  the  "  hero  of  Tip- 

pecanoe     and    the    Thames." 

Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson, 

was      chosen      vice-president.  MAKTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

He,  like  Van  Buren,  was  a  Democrat.  l 

2.  The  beginning  of  Van  Buren's  administration  was  noted 
for  the  bursting  forth  of  the  great  financial  storm,  the  result 
of  the  wild  speculations  of  the  few  preceding  years.  Mer- 

1  In  1832  the  northwest  frontier  suffered  from  Indian  hostilities.  The 
savages  were  subdued,  and  their  great  chief,  Black  Hawk,  and  other 
warriors,  being  made  prisoners,  were  conducted  through  some  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Union  to  convince  them  of  the  folly  of  contending 
against  the  whites.  Towards  the  close  of  1835,  the  Seminoles  of  Florida 
renewed  their  hostilities,  because  an  attempt  was  made  to  remove  them 
to  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi,  according  to  a  treaty  which  had  been 
previously  made  with  some  of  their  chiefs.  Their  principal  warrior, 
Osceola,  and  others,  did  not  consider  this  treaty  binding,  and  refused  to 
obey  it.  Osceola  was  imprisoned,  because  of  his  threatening  language, 
but,  promising  submission,  was  set  free.  In  revenge,  he  attacked  the 
whites,  but  was  again  made  prisoner.  The  Indians  were  defeated  by 
Colonel  Taylor  (afterward  President),  yet  they  continued  hostile  till  1842. 


1840  The  Slavery  Agitation.  231 

chants  were  unable  to  pay  their  debts,  and  numerous  failures 
were  the  consequence.  The  banks,  of  which  there  The  panic 
were  about  eight  hundred  in  number,  had  three  of  1837. 
times  as  much  paper  money  in  circulation  as  they  had 
coin  in  their  vaults.  They  were  therefore  compelled  to  sus 
pend  the  payment  of  their  notes  in  specie,  and  gold  and  sil 
ver  disappeared,  for  those  who  had  any  hoarded  it  for  safety. 
Even  the  government  was  embarrassed,  for  its  money  was 
locked  up  in  the  suspended  banks.  This  led  to  a  measure, 
recommended  by  the  president,  by  which  the  keeping  of  the 
government  money  was  intrusted  to  Assistant  Treasurers,  in 
certain  designated  places,  called  Sub-Treasuries.  This  is  now 
the  established  policy  of  the  country. 

3.  In  1840,  the  number  of  slaves  in  the  United  States  was 
2,487,455.      All   the   Northern  States  had  either  abolished 
slavery  or  had  made  provision  for  its  gradual  abolishment.    At 
the  date  mentioned,  there  were  sixty-four  slaves        The 
still  in  Pennsylvania,  five  in  Rhode  Island,  seven-      Slavery 
teen  in  Connecticut,  and  about  five  hundred  in    a&itatlon' 
New  Jersey.     The  South,  in  the  early  colonial  times,  had  been 
opposed  to  slavery,  and,  in  the  first  years  of  our  existence  as  a 
nation,  our  prominent  men — Washington,  Franklin,  Jeffer 
son,  Madison,   Jay,   Hamilton,   and  many  others — regarded 
slavery  as  a  great  evil.     Various  causes — the  difference  in  cli 
mate,  and  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin,  by  which  slave  labor 
was  made  more  profitable  in  the  South  than  the  North,  being 
the  principal  ones, — in  the  course  of  time  effected  a  change  of 
opinion  ;  and  slavery  was  at  length  advocated  in  the  South 
ern  States  as  right  in  itself  and  worthy  of  being  extended. 

4.  It  is  thus  seen  that  from  the  very  foundation  of  the 
government   there   were   many  persons  opposed  to  slavery. 
As  early  as  1775,   an   "  Abolition  Society"   was   formed   in 
Pennsylvania,  with  Franklin  for  its  president,  having  for  its 
object  the  "removal  of  slavery  from  the  American  people" 
and  the  "  discouraging  of  all  traffic  in  the  persons  of  our  fel 
low-men,"     The   formation  of  other  "  Abolition  Societies/' 


232 


Van  Bur  en 's  Administration. 


1840 


followed.  At  a  later  period,  too,  there  were  published  more 
than  two  thousand  abolition  journals,  one  of  the  first  of  these, 
"  The  Liberator,"  having  been  started  in  Boston  on  the  first 
day  of  1831,  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison.  The  mayor  of  that 
city  having  been  asked  by  a  Southern  magistrate  to  stop  the 
publication  of  Garrison's  paper,  replied  that  "it  was  not 
worth  the  trouble,  for  the  office  of  the  editor  was  an  obscure 
hole,  his  only  visible  auxiliary  a  negro  boy,  and  his  supporters 
a  very  few  insignificant  persons  of  all  colors." 

5.  The  agitation  against  slavery  during  Van  Buren's  ad 
ministration,  was  prosecuted  with  great  determination  ;  and 
this,  carried  on  by   means  of  lectures,   newspapers,  tracts, 
public  meetings,  and  petitions  to  Congress,  aroused  a  violent 
spirit  of  resistance.     In  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
other  Northern   cities,   anti-slavery   meetings   were   invaded 
and  broken  up  ;  the  offices  of  anti-slavery  newspapers  were 
mobbed,  and,  in   some   instances,  personal  violence  was  in 
flicted — in    one    notable   case,  in  Illinois,  death — upon    the 
abolitionists.     Still  the  agitation  went  on. 

6.  The  first  railway  in  America,  built  in  1826  and  known 
as  the  Quincy  Railroad,   was  only  two  miles  long.     It  was 

designed  for 
carrying  gran 
ite  from  the 
quarries  of 
Quincy,  Mas 
sachusetts,  to 
tide  water. 
The  cars  were 
dra  wn  by 
horses.  The 
second  rail 
way  was  the 

FIRST  RAILROAD   CAR  FOR   PASSENGERS    (1830).  -_  " 

Chunk,  which,  with  its  turnouts  and  branches,  in  all  thirteen 
miles  long,  was  constructed  for  the  transportation  of  coal  from 


Steam  Navigation.  233 

the  mines  of  that  place  to  the  Lehigh  river  in  Pennsylvania 

(1827).     "  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  was  the  first 

v  .,  .       .          .         „»  .,       ,     .         Railroads. 

passenger  railway  m  America,  fifteen  miles  being 

opened  in  1830,  the  cars  being  drawn  by  horses  till  the  next 
year,  when  a  locomotive  was  put  on  the  track."  During  the 
same  year  (1830)  a  small  locomotive,  weighing  not  more  than  a 
ton,  was  built  in  Baltimore  by  Peter  Cooper  (afterward  of  New 
York).  "  It  was  the  first  locomotive  for  railroad  purposes 
ever  built  in  America.  So  great  was  the  enterprise  through 
out  the  United  States  from  1832  to  1837  in  the  projection  and 
construction  of  railroads,  that  at  the  end  of  that  period  the 
contemplated  lines  exceeded  in  number  and  aggregate  length 
those  of  any  other  country." 

7.  We  have  spoken  of  the  Clermont,  Fulton's  first  steam 
boat  (see  p.  201).  As  many  as  six  steamboats  were  after 
ward  built  for  Fulton.  The  first  boat  of  the  kind  on  the 
Mississippi,  was  the  Orleans,  in  1811.  She  went  steam 
from  Pittsburg  to  New  Orleans  in  fourteen  days,  navigation.! 
Eight  years  later,  the  Savannah,  an  American  steamer,  crossed 
the  Atlantic  from  Savannah,  Georgia.  In  this  vessel  both  sails 
and  steam  were  used.  The  arrival  of  the  first  two  steamers, — 
the  Sirius  and  the  Great  Western, — at  New  York  from  Liver 
pool,  in  1838,  caused  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  coun 
try  ;  and  when  the  Great  Western  took  her  departure  from 
New  York  "a  fleet  of  steamers,  decorated  with  flags,  filled 
with  passengers,  and  each  having  a  band  of  music  on  board, 
accompanied  her  down  the  bay.  The  wharves  were  densely 
crowded  with  spectators,  and  even  the  house-tops  were  cov 
ered"  with  thousands  of  persons.  Cheers  went  up  from  the 
excited  people  as  a  parting  God-speed. 


Administrations  of  Harrison  and  Tyler. 

1.  The  depression  in  business  affairs  was  attributed  to  the 
want  of  wisdom  in  Van  Buren's  administration,  and,  although 
he  recejvecl  the  nomination  of  the  Democratic  party  for  a 


234 


Harrison?  s  Administration. 


•    1840 


second  term,  and  was  still  pledged  to  tread  in  "  the  footsteps 
of  his  illustrious  predecessor/'  he  found  it  impos- 

14th  national  sihle  to  carry  with  him   the  popularity  of  "Old 
election.     HickorVj"  as   Jackson  was  affectionately  called. 

Besides,  a  great  many  persons  were  disposed  to  try  "a  change 

of  policy,"  thinking  that  it  could  not  be   for   the  worse. 

Again  the  Whigs  nominated  William  Henry  Harrison,  who, 

like  Jackson  enjoyed  a  military 
fame.  He  had  fought  the  In 
dians  ;  and  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe,  though  of  small  account 
compared  with  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  gave  the  Whigs 
a  great  amount  of  campaign 
capital.  "  Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  too  "  became  their  rally 
ing  cry. 

2.  The    Whigs  also    derived 
great  advantage  in   the  contest 


WILLIAM   HEKBY   HARBISON. 


"thoughtless  Democrat"  had  tauntingly  alluded  to  their 
candidate  as  having  dwelt  in  a  "log  cabin"  and  used  "hard 
cider"  as  a  beverage.  The  expressions,  the  "log-cabin  candi 
date,"  and  the  "hard-cider  campaign,"  at  once  came  into 
popular  use,  and  with  such  furor,  that  all  the  arts  of  the  "lit 
tle  magician,"  as  Van  Buren  was  called  by  his  political  oppo 
nents,  were  unable  to  counteract  its  effects.  Log  cabins,  with 
the  "latch-string  hanging  out,"  and  decorated  with  coon 
skins,  were  drawn  on  wagons  in  political  processions,  and 
were  also  made  to  give  effect  to  the  mass  meetings,  which 
were  often  composed  of  "acres  of  men."  The  result  was  the 
election  of  Harrison,  and,  with  it,  the  elevation  of  John 
Tyler,  of  Virginia,  to  the  office  of  vice-president. 

3.  Before  he  came  to  Washington,  Harrison  had  lived  in  a 
plain  and  simple  way,  taking  his  breakfast  at  seven  or  eight, 
his  dinner  at  noon,  and  retiring  early.  In  the  White  House, 


1841  Death  of  Harrison.  235 

he  took  his  breakfast  at  nine,  dined  at  six,  retired  after  mid 
night,  and  rose  at  five.     He  was  then  sixty-nine  years  of  age. 
"  Can  it  be  a  cause  of  wonder  that  his  system  gave  way,  re 
fusing  to  bear  this  heavy  and  unaccustomed  tax?"     He  was 
taken  sick,  and,  just  one  month  after  his  inaugura-       Death 
tion,  he  died  (April  4th,  1841).     "  His  death  was       of  the 
an  astounding  shock  to  the  country.     He  was  the    President- 
first  president  who  had  died  in  office.     All  the  public  build 
ings,   most  of  the  private  dwellings,  and  even  the  lowliest 
tenements,  in  Washington,  were  draped  in  black  ;  and  busi 
ness  was  suspended." 

4.  John  Tyler,  the  vice-president,  being  called  to  Washing 
ton,  took  the  oath  of  office  and  assumed  the  title  of  president ; 
but  the  course  he  pursued  sadly  disappointed  the  Whigs,  b^ 

whom   he   had   been       T  ler 
elected.      They   had     becomes 
expected  to  establish    President- 
a  National  Bank  "  for  the  relief 
of  the  country,"  but  he  vetoed 
two  bank  bills  passed   by  Con 
gress,  though  one  of  them  had 
been     previously    approved    by 
him.     All  the  members  of   his 
Cabinet— except  Daniel  Webster, 
the  Secretary  of  State — resigned, 
and  he  was   denounced   by   his 

JOHN  TYLBK.  „  -,.,.-,     f  *LT    , 

former  political  friends.  Web 
ster  remained  at  his  post  long  enough  to  make  what  is  com 
monly  known  as  the  Webster- Ashburton  treaty,  by  which 
long-standing  differences  between  England  and  the  United 
States  respecting  the  North-eastern  boundary  were  settled, 
and  provision  was  made  for  determining  the  entire  northern 
boundary  line  to  the  Rocky  mountains.1 

1  In  1842  serious  difficulties  occurred  in  Rhode  Island,  growing  out  of 
a  movement  to  substitute  a  constitution  extending  the  right  of  suffrage, 
in  place  of  the  charter  granted  by  Charles  II.,  in  1663,  and  which  had 


236  Tyler }  s  Administration.  1845 

5.  A  proposition  for  the  admission  of  Texas  into  the  Union 
caused  an  excited  discussion  throughout  the  country  during 
the  closing  months  of  Tyler's  administration.     Texas  had  been 

Annexation  a  province  of  Mexico,  but  the  inhabitants  had  re- 
of  Texas,  volted,  achieved  their  independence,  and  set  up 
a  republican  government  of  their  own.  Hence,  Texas  was 
called,  at  this  time,  "  The  Lone  Star  State/7  one  star  only 
being  on  her  flag.  The  annexation  of  Texas  was  favored  by 
the  South,  because  slavery  existed  there,  but  the  measure  was 
opposed  by  a  large  party  in  the  North,  who  were  greatly 
averse  to  any  increase  of  the  slave  power  in  the  United  States. 
Many,  too,  foresaw  that  the  annexation  of  Texas  would  pro 
duce  a  war  with  Mexico.  The  discussion  in  Congress  was 
finally  ended  by  the  passage  of  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the 
annexation,  and  to  this  Tyler  gave  his  approval  three  days 
before  he  went  out  of  office  (1845). 

6.  The  demand  for  the  rapid  communication   of  intelli 
gence  was  by  no  means  supplied  by  the  locomotive  and  rail 
road.     To  Professor  Morse  is  due  high  honor  for  the  man- 

T,  ner  in  which  he  availed 
magnetic  himself  of  scientific  dis- 
telegraph.  coverjeg)  previously  made 

by  others  in  the  department  of  elec 
tro-magnetism,  for  many  discover 
ies  of  his  own,  and  especially  for 
his  perseverance  in  bringing  his 
system  into  use  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind.  His  telegraph  was  first 
so  made  available  in  1837.  "  He 
had  completed  his  telegraph  line 
from  Washington  to  Baltimore  just  MOUSE. 

previous  to  the  sitting  of  the  Democratic  convention  for  the 

been  the  "  fundamental  law  of  the  land"  the  greater  part  of  two  centu 
ries.  The  "  suffrage  party"  attempted  to  effect  the  change  without  re 
gard  to  existing  laws,  even  resorting  to  force  ;  but  the  legitimate  power 
prevailed.  A  constitution,  the  one  under  which  the  State  is  now  gov 
erned,  was  soon  after  adopted., 


1837  The  Electro- Telegraph  237 

nomination  of  a  presidential  candidate,  and  was  ready  to  re 
port  its  proceedings  every  fifteen  minutes.  The  terminus  of 
the  line  in  Washington  was  in  a  room  adjoining  the  Supreme 
Courtroom,  under  the  Senate -chamber,  now  the  Supreme 
Court  room. 

7.  Here  he  received  and  communicated  dispatches  during 
the  sitting  of  the  convention,  and  read  them  to  the  large 
crowd  assembled  around  the  window,  manifesting  the  most 
intense  interest  in  the  proceedings  at  Baltimore,  as  they  were 
from  time  to  time  received  and  read  aloud.  It  was  a  novelty. 
Every  few  minutes  it  would  be  reported  that  Mr.  So-and-so 
had  made  such  a  motion,  and  in  a  minute  or  two,  '  the  mo 
tion  has  failed/  or,  'has  carried/  as  the  case  might  be. 
Again,  '  A  ballot  is  being  taken  for  president.'  'Mr.  Polk 
has  been  proposed,  and  a  vote  is  being  taken  ;  such  a  State 
has  voted  for  Mr.  Polk, — such  and  such  and  such  States  have 
voted  for  him  :  he  has  received  two-thirds,  and  is  nominated. ' 
This  talking  with  Baltimore  was  something  so  novel,  so 
strange,  so  extraordinary,  and  upon  a  matter  of  such  intense 
interest,  that  we  could  hardly  realize  the  fact.  It  seemed 
like  enchantment,  or  a  delusion,  or  a  dream." 

Folk's  Administration. 

1.  The  presidential  contest  in  the  fall  of  1844  turned  largely 
upon  the  question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas.     The  candi 
date  of  those  favoring  the  measure — the  Democratic  party,— 
was  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee.     Henry  Clay,        The 
"The  Mill-Boy  of  the  Slashes/' 1  who  was   and  15th national 
had    been   all    his   life,   the   great    champion   of     electlon- 
'*  The   American    System,"    that   is    protection   to   Ameri 
can  labor  and  American  manufactures,  was  again  the  candi 
date  of  the  Whigs,  but  was  again  defeated,  for  "  he  was  not 

1  This  term  was  applied  to  Clay  by  his  political  friends,  in  allusion  to 
the  fact  that,  when  a  boy,  he  was  often  sent  on  errands  to  a  place  near 
his  home  called  "  the  Slashes,"  where  there  was  a  mill, 


238 


Poltf  s  Administration. 


1845-6 


JAMES  KNOX   POLK. 


pro-slavery  enough  for  the  South,  nor  anti-slavery  enough 

for  the  North."  The  Aboli 
tionists  voted  for  James  G.  Bir- 
ney,  who,  though  he  did  not 
get  a  single  electoral  vote,  re 
ceived  sixty-five  thousand  of  the 
people's  ballots.  Folk's  inaugu 
ration  took  place  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1845. 

2.  Texas,  having  assented  to 
the  annexation  act  'in  the  form 
in  which  it  had  passed  Congress, 
the  "Lone  Star  State"  was 
merged  in  the  constellation  of 

the  Union  (1845).     As  anticipated  by  many,  this  led  to  a 
War       war  with  Mexico,  for  that  country  still  claimed 

with  Mexico,  Texas  as  a  part  of  her  own  territory.     Hostilities 

commenced  in  1846,  near  the  Rio  Grande  (re'-o  graJin'-da),  to 

which  river  General  Taylor  had  been  sent  to  protect  the  new 

State    from    a    threatened 

invasion  by  the  Mexicans.1 
3.  The   Mexicans   made 

an    attack    upon    a   small 

party    of     American    dra 
goons,  and  this  led  to  two 

engagements,  one  at  Palo 

Alto  (pah'-lo   alil'-to)  and 

the  other  at  llesaca  de  la 

Taylor's     Palma  (ra-sah1 - 
campaign.    ^  fa  ]ah  pa^. 

mah),  in  both  of  which  the 
Mexicans     were     defeated 


Ja  Vista 
TAYLOR'S 

CAMPAIGN 

Scale 

0       20     40   -60     80     100 


1  The  United  States,  by  the  annexation  of  Texas,  claimed  the  Rio 
Grande  as  their  boundary,  while  Mexico  alleged  that  the  western  limits 
of  the  province  never  extended  beyond  the  Nueces  river.  The  crossing 
of  the  latter  river  into  the  disputed  territory  by  Taylor,  was,  therefore, 
considered  by  the  Mexicans  as  the  commencement  of  active  war,  and 
they  consequently  made  the  attack, 


1846-7   Conquest  of  New  Mexico  and  Calif  ornia.    239 


California. 


with  severe  loss  (May,  1846).  In  a  few  days  Taylor  took  the 
town  of  Matamoras,  and  then  marching  to  the  fortified  city  of 
Monterey  (mon-ta-ra'\  after  a  series  of  assaults  compelled  it  to 
capitulate  (Sept.  24).  These  victories  were  gained  with  a  force 
far  inferior  to  that  of  the  Mexicans.  Taylor's  last  engage 
ment  in  Mexico  was  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  (biva'-nah  vees'- 
taJi).  At  this  place,  his  small  force,  of  less  than  five  thousand 
troops,  was  attacked  by  Santa  Anna  with  an  army  of  nearly 
four  times  that  number  of  men;1  but  after  a -determined 
contest  which  lasted  from  morning  till  night,  the  Mexicans 
were  driven  in  disorder  from  the  field  (Feb.  23,  1847). 

4.  In  the  mean  time,  General  Kearny  had  marched  with  a 
small  force  into  New  Mexico  and  taken  possession  of  that  prov 
ince  ;  while  Captain  Fremont,  "  the 
Pathfinder  of  the  Eocky 
mountains/7    who      had  Ne^Mexico 
(before  the  breaking  out 

of  the  war)  been  sent  to 
make  western  explorations,  entered 
California  ;  and,  the  settlers  flocking 
to  his  standard,  he  defeated  the 
Mexicans  in  several  skirmishes.  The 
conquest  of  California  was  com 
pleted  by  means  of  the  American 
fleet  under  Commodores  Slote  and 
Stockton,  assisted  by  Fremont  and 
Kearny  (1847). 

5.  It  having  been  decided  by  the  authorities  in  Washing 
ton,  that,  in  order  "  to  conquer  a  peace,"  the  Mexican  capi 
tal  must  be  captured,  this  task  was  assigned  to  General  Scott, 

1  Santa  Anna  had  been  made  Dictator,  and  was  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Mexican  army.  He  had  been  so  sure  of  victory,  that  he  sent 
his  cavalry  to  intercept  the  retreat  of  the  Americans.  The  American 
general,  summoned  to  surrender,  replied,  "  General  Taylor  never  sur 
renders."  In  the  midst  of  this  dreadful  battle  he  remained  perfectly 
cool,  calling  out  to  his  artillery  officer  at  one  time,  "  A  little  more  grape, 
Captain  Bragg!"  The  battle  of  Buena  Vista  entirely  broke  up  Santa 
Anna's  spendid  army  of  twenty  thousand  men. 


JOHN   C.    FKEMONT. 


240 


Polk's  Administration. 


1847 


the  hero  of  Lundy's  Lane.     Landing  his  army  near  the  city 
of  Vera  Cruz,  which  was  defended  by  a  powerful 
fortress  that  had  frowned  upon  the  waters  of  the 
more    than    a   hundred 


Scott's 
campaign 

gulf 

years,  he  opened  a  tremen 
dous  fire  upon  the  city  and 
fortress,  continuing  the  bom 
bardment  five  days,  until  both 
were  compelled  to  surrender 
(March,  1847).  The  march 
to  the  enemy's  capital  was 
not  an  easy  one.  The  Mexi 
can  army  was  large  and  com 
manded  by  the  wily  Santa 
Anna.  The  Americans  were 
mainly  volunteers  who  had 
never  seen  war  before.  At 
(sdr'-ro)  Gordo,  the  enemy, 


GENERAL    SCOTT. 


the  mountain  pass  of  Cerro 
twelve  thousand  in  number, 
waited  behind  strong  fortifications.  The  Americans  cut  a  way 
round  the  mountains  and  assailed  the  fortifications.  The 
Mexicans  fled  in  confusion,  and  with  so  much  hurry  that 
Santa  Anna,  to  escape  capture,  was  obliged  to  leave  behind 
his  wooden  leg  (April).  Other  successes  followed,  and  the 
invading  army  entered  and  occupied  the  ancient  and  popu 
lous  city  of  Puebla  (poo-a'-blah).  Here,  Scott,  having  sent 
home  a  large  number  of  his  troops,  because  their  term  of 
enlistment  had  expired,  waited  three  months  for  reinforce 
ments.  On  their  arrival  he  resumed  his  march. 

6.  Finding  that  the  direct  route  to  the  Mexican  capital 
was  strongly  fortified,  Scott  turned  southward,  and  encamped 
about  ten  miles  from  the  city.  The  approaches  to  the 
capital  were  guarded  by  powerful  batteries  ;  but  these  were  all 
taken  after  severe  conflicts,  in  which  the  American  troops 
showed  the  greatest  determination  and  daring.  The  last  of 
these  places  was  carried  by  assault  on  the  13th  of  Septem 
ber  ;  and  Santa  Anna  and  his  army,  being  unable  to  make 


1847 


American  Conquest  of  Mexico. 


241 


SCOTT'S 

CAM  PAI  CrN 


any  further  resistance,  fled  from  the  city  during  the  succeed 
ing  night.  The  next  morning,  General  Scott,  at  the  head  of 
the  American  army,  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  the  city. 
At  first  the  victorious 
troops  were  attacked  from 
the  house-tops  by  the 
Mexican  populace,  but 
this  opposition  was  soon 
quieted. 

s  7.  "  Mexico,  the  capi 
tal  of  the  ancient  Aztecs, 
the  seat  of  the  Spanish- 
American  empire  in 
America  —  had  passed 
from  Aztec  and  from 
Spaniard  to  the  Anglo- 
American — the  Northman 
of  the  Goths,  the  Saxon 
of  Germany,  the  English 
man  of  America — the  same  bold,  hardy,  energetic,  ingenious, 
invincible,  ambitious,  and  adventurous  being,  American 
whose  genius  the  forms  of  civilization  cannot  con-  conquest  of 
fine,  and  to  whose  dominion  continents  are  inade 
quate.  In  what  hour  of  time,  or  limit  of  space,  shall  this  man 
of  the  moderns — this  conqueror  over  land  and  seas,  nations  and 
governments — find  rest,  in  the  completion  of  his  mighty  prog 
ress  ?  Commencing  his  march  in  the  cold  regions  of  Scan 
dinavia,  no  ice  chilled  his  blood — no  wilderness  delayed  his 
steps — no  labor  wearied  his  industry — no  armies  arrested  his 
march — no  empire  subdued  his  power.  Over  armies  and  over 
empires — over  lands  and  over  seas — in  heat,  and  cold,  and 
wilderness,  and  flood — amidst  the  desolations  of  death  and 
the  decays  of  disease — this  Northman  has  moved  on  in  might 
and  majesty,  steady  as  the  footsteps  of  Time,  and  fixed  as  the 
decrees  of  Fate  ! 

$.  How  singular — how  romantically   strange  is  this. — his 


242  Folk's  Administration.  1848 

wild  adventure  and  marvellous  conquest  in  the  valley  of  val 
leys  !  How  came  the  Northman  and  the  Moorish  Celt  here 
to  meet,  and  here  to  battle,  in  this  North- American  valley? 
Look  at  it  !  Inquire  !  Ask  yourself  how  they  came  here  ! 
Are  they  the  citizens,  by  nature,  of  this  continent  ?  Are  they 
the  aborigines  of  these  wild  and  wonderful  forests  ?  Never  ! 
How  came  they,  then,  to  be  contending  for  the  lands  and 
groves  of  those  whose  children  they  are  not  ?  In  the  begin 
ning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Cortez  landed  on  the  coast  of 
Mexico,  and,  at  the  head  of  Spanish  troops,  marched  on  to 
the  conquest  of  Mexico,  over  whose  effeminate  inhabitants  the 
Spaniard  has,  for  three  hundred  years,  held  undivided  do 
minion.  Not  many  years  after,  the  Anglo-Saxon  landed  on 
the  coasts  of  the  northern  Atlantic.  He,  too,  marched  on  to 
conquest.  The  native  citizens  of  the  forest  disappeared 
before  him.  Forests,  mountains,  and  Indians,  were  ineffec 
tual  to  oppose  him.  From  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
the  Sabine  of  Texas,  he  is  a  conqueror  over  nature.  And  now, 
this  Spaniard  and  this  Northman  meet,  in  battle  panoply,  in 
this  valley  of  volcanoes,  by  the  ancient  graves  of  unknown 
nations,  on  the  lava-covered  soil  where  nature  once  poured 
forth  her  awe-inspiring  names.  Three  centuries  since,  these 
warrior-nations  had  left  their  homes  beyond  the  wide  Atlan 
tic.  Two  thousand  miles  from  each  other,  they  had  planted 
the  seats  of  their  empire  ;  and  now,  as  if  time,  in  the  moral 
world,  had  completed  another  of  its  grand  revolutions,  they 
have  met  in  mortal  conflict." 

9.  The  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico  by  the  American  army 

virtually  ended  the  war.     A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by 

which   Mexico   agreed  to    the    Rio   Grande   as   a   boundary 

Treaty      between  the  two  republics,    and   surrendered  to 

of  peace,  the  United  States  a  vast  territory  between  Texas 
and  the  Pacific  ocean,  including  all  the  present  State  of 
California.  On  the  part  of  the  United  States  it  was  agreed 
that  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  should  be  paid  for 
the  territory  thus  acquired,  and  that  debts  diie  from 


1848          Discovery  of  Gold  in  California.  243 

co  to  American  citizens,  to  the  amount  of  three  millions  of 
dollars,  should  be  assumed.1  Five  years  later,  the  United 
States,  desiring  a  more  southern  boundary  for  a  portion  of 
their  new  territory,  secured  what  is  known  as  the  "  Gadsden 
Purchase,'7  by  paying  the  additional  sum  of  ten  millions  of 
dollars. 

10.  Peace  was  no  sooner  concluded  than  "  it  was  discov 
ered  that  the  soil  of  California  was  richly  endowed  with  gold.2 
On  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Sacramento  river  an  old  set 
tler  was  peacefully  digging  a  trench, : — caring  little,    D. 
it  may  be  supposed,  about  the  change  in  citizen-    of  gold  in 
ship  which  he  had  undergone,  nor  dreaming  that  Callfornia- 
the   next   stroke  of  his  spade  was  to  influence  the   history 
not   merely   of   California    but  of    the   world.     Among   the 
sand  which  he  lifted  were  certain  shining   particles.      His 
wondering  eye  considered  them  with  attention.     They  were 

1  The  treaty  was  made   by  commissioners   who  met   at  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo,  a  small  town  about  four  miles  from  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  but 
the  boundary  between  the  two  countries  soon  became  a  subject  of  dis 
pute,  which  was  not  settled  till  1853,  when  the  United  States  purchased 
the  Mesilla  Valley,  or,  as  it  was  called,  the  Gadsden  Purchase,  General 
Gadsden  having  been  the  agent  employed  by  the  United  States  in  trans 
acting  the  affair.     The  map  on  the  opposite  page  shows  the  extent,  not 
only  of  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  but  of  the  territory  possessed 
by  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  as  well  as 
of  all  the  tracts  since  acquired.     So  much  of  it  as  relates  to  Louisi 
ana  and  Oregon  is  based  upon  the  conclusions  stated  in  Greenhow's 
"  History  of  Oregon  and  California,"  an  official  work  published  under 
the  direction  of  the  United  States  Senate.     The  map  inserted  in  Vol.  1 
of  the  Ninth  Census  Report,   is  not  in  accord  with  Greenhow's  con 
clusions,  as  it  extends  Louisiana  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  ' 

2  Before  1779,  eight  establishments,   missionary  and  military,   were 
formed  by  the  Spaniards  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America,   the 
most  southern  being  San  Diego,  the  most  northern,  San  Francisco  ;  and 
during  the  five  years  preceding  that  date,  three  exploring  voyages  were 
made  by  order  of  the  Spanish  Government,  in  which  the  coast  was  ex 
amined  as  far  north  as  the  sixtieth  parallel.     (See  page  37,  note.}    By  the 
year  1800,  as  many  as  sixteen  Spanish  missions  had  been  established  in 
various  parts  of  Upper  California.     Here  the  Indians  were  gathered,  and 
the  Catholic  missionaries  taught  them  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  and  im 
parted  to  them  the  truths  of  Christianity.     After  Mexico  had  become  in 
dependent,  the  mission  lands,  comprising  several  million  acres,  were 
occupied  by  the  Mexican  government,  and  the  m/issipns  \yere  gradually 
abandoned. 


244  Taylor ]s  Administration.  1849 

gold  !  Gold  was  everywhere — in  the  soil,  in  the  river-sand, 
in  the  mountain-rock  ;  gold  in  dust,  gold  in  pellets,  gold  in 
lumps  !  It  was  the  land  of  old  fairy  tale,  where  wealth  could 
be  had  by  him  who  chose  to  stoop  down  and  gather  !  Fast  as 
the  mails  could  carry  it  the  bewildering  news  thrilled  the 
heart  of  America. 

11.  The  journey  to  the  land  of  promise  was  full  of  toil  and 
danger.     There  were  over  two  thousand  miles  of  unexplored 
wilderness  to  traverse.     There  were  mountain  ranges  to  sur 
mount,  lofty  and  rugged  as  the  Alps  themselves.     There  were 
great  desolate  plains,  unwatered  and  without  vegetation,  In 
dians,    whose   dispositions    there    was    reason   to    question, 
beset  the  path.     But  danger  was  unconsidered.     That  season 
thirty  thousand  Americans  crossed  the  plains,   climbed  the 
mountains,  forded  the  streams,  bore  without  shrinking  all  that 
Avant,  exposure,  and  fatigue  could  inflict.     Cholera  broke  out 
among  them,  and  four  thousand  left  their  bones  in  the  wil 
derness.     The  rest  plodded  on  undismayed.     Fifty  thousand 
came  by  sea.     From  all  countries   they   came — from   quiet 
English  villages,  from  the  crowded  cities  of  China.     Before 
the  year  was  out  California  had  gained  an  addition  of  eighty 
thousand  to  her  population." 

12.  Florida  became  a  State    the    day  before  the  last  of 
Tyler's  term  of  office  (1845).     At  a  later  period  of  the  year, 
during  Folk's  administration,  Texas  became  a  State,  as  pre 
viously  stated.     Iowa,  the  twenty-ninth  State,  was  admitted 

in  1846.     It  originally  was  a  part  of  the  "  Loui- 
New  states.  giana   purchase."     The  admission  of   Wisconsin 
took  place  in  1848,  from  what,  in  part,  was  soon  after  the 
Revolution,  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Taylor's  Administration. 

1.  As  slavery  in  Mexico  had  been  abolished  more  than 
twenty  years,  the  territory  ceded  by  her  to  the  United  States 
was  "free  soil."  In  anticipation  of  this  acquisition,  Mr. 


1849 


The  Wilmot  Proviso. 


245 


ZACHARY   TAYLOR. 


Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  acting  for  himself  and  other  mem 
bers  of  Congress  from  the  free  States,  had  offered        The 
an  addition  to  the  Mexican  treaty,  which  after-  16th  national 
ward  became  known  as  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso,"     electlon- 

and  which  may  be  considered  as 
the  foundation  stone  of  the  Free 
Soil  Party.  The  object  of  the 
proviso  was  to  preserve  for  ever 
as  "  free  soil"  the  territory  to  be 
acquired  from  Mexico.  It,  how 
ever,  did  not  pass  both  Houses  of 
Congress  ;  but  it  greatly  helped 
to  bring  into  existence  the  new 
political  party,  and  consequently 
three  parties  contended  for  the 
presidency  in  the  fall  of  1848. 

2.  The  candidate  of  the  Demo 
crats  was  General  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan  ;  of  the  Whigs,  Gen 
eral  Zachary  Taylor,  of  Louisiana ;  and  of  the  Free  Soilers, 
whose  party  cry  was  "  Free  Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Labor,  and 
Free  Men,"  was  ex-president  Van  Buren,  of  New  York.  Gen 
eral  Taylor  started  in  the  canvass  with  a  decided  advantage  over 
his  competitors.  In  the  Mexican  war  he  had  won  great  laurels 
as  a  soldier  ;  and  by  his  simplicity,  directness,  and  indomitable 
daring  in  that  contest  had  acquired  the  popular  favor.  His 
soldiers  used  to  call  him  "  Old  Rough  and  Beady."  His 
laconic  expressions  at  Buena  Vista — "  General  Taylor  never 
surrenders,"  and  "  A  little  more  grape,  Captain  Bragg" — 
were  often  quoted  during  the  presidential  campaign,  which 
resulted  in  his  election.  He  was  inaugurated  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1849,  the  4th  being  Sunday. 

3.  It  was  during  the  early  excitement  of  the  "  gold  fever" 
that  President  Polk's  term  of  office  expired  and  Taylor's 
began.  "  The  'fever  '  was  raging  like  an  epidemic  in  every 
direction.  High  and  low,  rich  and  poor  took  it.  From  the 
fall  of  1849  to  the  fall  of  1850  wae  +he  tent  era  of  California, 


246  Taylor's  Administration.  1849-50 

the  strange  flush  times  of  the  young  State.     Property  was 

Mining     changing  hands,  fortunes  changing  favorites,  with 

life  in      astonishing  rapidity.     The  poor  man  of  yesterday 

California,   wag  ^  fjcn  man  ^  to-day.    rpne  servant,  running 

away  from  his  master,  tarried  a  month  or  two  in  the  mines, 
and  returned  with  gold  enough  to  buy  his  master  out.  The 
average  wages  made  by  miners  in  1849  were,  perhaps >  twenty 
or  thirty  dollars  a  day  ;  yet  in  rich  diggings  an  average  of 
from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars  a  week  was  not 
uncommon  for  weeks  together. 

4.  The  abundance  of  gold  in  the  hands  of  people  not  used 
to  it  made  them  lavish.     There  was  very  little  sitting  down 
and  calculating  how  to  economize  ;  and  there  was  no  4  Poor 
Kichard  '  pleading  frugality  and  pointing  out  the  penury  that 
must  follow  thriftlessness.     If  there  was  any  shrewd  Yankee 
still  following  the  precepts  of  his  early  education,  and  in  an 
open-handed  generation  trying  to  remember  that  it  is   not 
what  a  man  makes,  but  what  he    saves,  that  determines  him 
rich  or  poor,  his  daily  memorandum  of  expenses  must  have 
seemed  very  shocking.     If  he  took  breakfast  at  a  restaurant  in 
San  Francisco,  he  had  a  dollar  to  pay  for  a  beef  steak  and  a 
cup  of  coffee.     For  fresh  eggs  he  must  pay  from  seventy-five 
cents  to  a  dollar  each.     His  dinner  would  cost  him  from  a 
dollar  and  a  half  to  five  dollars,  according  to  his  appetite. 
Washing  was  eight  dollars  for  a  dozen  pieces  :  it  even  hap 
pened,  they  say,  that  some  sent  their  dirty  clothes  to  China 
to  be  washed. 

5.  On  landing  at  San  Francisco,  which  early  became  the 
principal  port  of  debarkation,  or  on  arriving  over  the  moun 
tains,  almost  all  dashed  first  into  the  mines.     Placer  mining 
could  be  learned  in  a  day  :  any  one  who  could  shovel  dirt, 
stand  up  to  his  knees  in  running  water,   and  shake  a  pan, 
knew  the  art.     .     .     .     The  currency  was  gold-dust,  that  is, 
small  scales,   globules,   or   nuggets   of  gold.     At   first  they 
rudely  measured  it ;  then  as  rudely  weighed  it — a  silver  dol 
lar's  weight,  the  weight  of  a  jackknife,  or  the  weight  of  an 
ounce  avoirdupois.     Then  they  began  to  smelt  the  dust  into 


The  Compromise  of  1850.  247 

bars,  ingots,  or  slugs,  stamping  the  initials  of  the  assayer  to 
give  credit  to  its  designated  weight  where  scales  were  not  ac 
cessible.  Not  till  1854,  when  the  United  States  gave  them  a 
Branch  Mint  at  San  Francisco,  was  the  currency  regulated 
with  any  satisf action. " 

6.  In  September,   1849,  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of 
settlers  in  California  to  form  a  State;  and  "the  youthful 
queen  of  the  Pacific,  in  her  robes  of  freedom  inlaid  with 
gold,"  made  application  to  Congress  for  admission      Slavery 
to  the  Union.     As  the  constitution  which  Cali-    agitation 
fornia  had  adopted  excluded  slavery  from  her  ter-     revived' 
ritory,  another  violent  agitation  of  the  "slave  question"  fol 
lowed,  "  Calhoun,  the  great  leader  and  champion  of  the  cause 
of  slavery,"  and  the  other  friends  of  the  slave  power,  oppos 
ing  the  admission  of  California  as  a  free  State.     Before  the 
question  was  decided,  Taylor  died  (July  9th,  1850),  and  was 
"  quietly  succeeded  without  show  or  parade"  by  the  vice- 
president,  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York. 

Fillmore's  A dministration. 

1.  Other  subjects,  besides  the  admission  of  California, 
but  all  growing  out  of  the  slavery  question,  had  been 
introduced  into  Congress  at  this  time  ;  and  so  violent  was 

the    controversy   be-        The 
tween   the   opposing  Compromise 
parties  that  the  safe-     ofl850' 
ty  of  the  Union  was   menaced. 
The  great  orator  and  statesman, 
Henry  Clay,  by  his  fervid  elo 
quence,   did  much  to  allay  this 
strife,  and  finally  a  compromise 
was  effected  by  which  California 
was   admitted    as   a    free   State 
(1850).     At  the  same  time,  New 
Mexico  and  Utah  were  organized 

MILLARD   FILLMOBE.  ...  ,11  j 

as  territories  ;   the   slave   trade 
was  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  and  the  "  Fugi- 


948  Fillmore's  Administration.  1850 

tive  Slave  Law,"  which  provided  for  the  return  to  their 
owners  of  slaves  escaping  to  a  free  State,  was  passed.  Dan 
iel  Webster,  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  contri 
buted  his  aid  in  effecting  this  compromise,  which,  though 
it  allayed  the  excitement  between  the  two  sections  of  the 
country,  gave  great  offence  to  a  large  party  in  the  North  who 
were  opposed  to  all  concessions  to  the  slave  power. 

2.  "  The  vast  region  known  as  Utah  was  then  in  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Indians  and  the  Mormons,  or  Latter-Day  Saints, 
a  religious  sect  founded  by  Joseph  Smith,  a  native  of  Ver- 

Tbe  mont.  In  1832,  Smith  had  twelve  hundred  fol- 
Mormons.  lowers,  when  the  whole  sect  removed  to  Missouri. 
As  they  professed  to  be  the  true  saints,  by  virtue  of  which 
they  were  to  become  the  inheritors  of  the  western  country, 
they  became  objects  of  distrust  to  the  Missourians.  The 
militia  were  called  out,  but  the  Mormons  avoided  a  conflict 
by  crossing  the  Mississippi  to  Illinois.  They  prepared  to 
make  that  State  their  home.  On  a  bluff,  overlooking  the 
Mississippi,  they  founded  a  city,  Nauvoo  (naw'-voo),  and 
erected  an  imposing  temple  (1840).  Thefts  and  robberies 
were  numerous  in  the  vicinity,  and  these  crimes  were  attrib 
uted  to  the  Mormons,  some  of  whom  were  arrested. 

3.  At  length  the  Prophet,  Smith,  and  his  brother  Hyrum, 
were  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison  in  the  town  of  Carthage. 
A   mob   collected   a  few  days  after,   and  in  the  melee  the 
brothers  were  slain.     The  spirit  aroused  against  the  Mormons 
was  so  violent  that  they  could  find  safety  alone  in  flight,  and 
the   following  year   they   sold   their    possessions,   left   their 
beautiful  city,  which  contained  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
under  chosen  elders  emigrated  away  across  the  plains  and  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  finally  found  a  resting-place  in  the 
Great  Basin  (1844).     As  they  were  now  upon  the  soil  of  Mex 
ico,  they  hoped  their  troubles  were  at  an  end.     They  signifi 
cantly  called  their  new  home,  Deseret — the  land  of  the  Honey 
Bee  ;  and,  to  recruit  their  numbers,  they  sent  missionaries  to 
every  quarter  of  the  globe. 


1854       Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.         249 


4.  Meantime  they  labored  with  great  zeal  in  founding  a  city 
on  the  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  It  is  on  ground  four 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  and 
planned  on  a  large  scale  ;  its  streets  are  eight  rods  wide,  and 
every  house  is  surrounded  by  a  garden.  Presently  came  the 
war  with  Mexico,  and  the  ceding  of  all  that  region  to  the 
United  States.  The  Mormons  were  the  first  to  organize 
themselves  as  a  territory,  under  the  name  of  Deseret,  but  Con 
gress  saw  proper  to  change  the  name  to  Utah.  President 
Fillmore  appointed  Brigham  Young,  their  leading  elder,  the 
first  governor." 

Pierce' s  Administration. 

1.  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  succeeded  to  the 
presidency  on  the  4th  of  March,   1853.     The  next  year  the 
agitation  of  the  "  slavery  question'7  was  again  revived  by  the 
passage  of  a  law  by  Congress  organizing  the  terri-       Repeal 
tories   of   Kansas   and  Nebraska.      This  law   re-     ^J^ 
pealed  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  had  ex-  Compromise, 
eluded   slavery    from    the    entire    region,    and    substituted 
what  was   called  by   some   per 
sons,    "  Squatter    Sovereignty" 

or  "  Popular  Sovereignty," 
that  is,  the  right  of  the  people 
in  each  territory  to  decide 
whether  they  would  have  slaves 
or  not.  The  "  Compromise  of 
1820  "  had  been  regarded  as  a 
sacred  compact  between  the 
South  and  the  North,  and  as 
such,  for  the  third  of  a  century 
had  received  the  sanction  of  all 
parties.  An  intense  excitement 
was  again  produced,  especially  in  the  Northern  States. 

2.  Now  came  the  struggle  again  on  the  "  slavery  issue" 
between  the  North  and  the  South,  both  making  great  exer- 


FRANKLIN   PIERCE. 


250  Pierces  Administration.  1854 

tions  to  send  settlers  to  the  new  territory  of  Kansas.  The 
.  .  South  was  first  in  the  field,  Missouri,  a  slave  State, 

war  in      being    near,  and   her    citizens    leading  the   way. 

Kansas.  But  the  Nortll?  resoiute  to  win  Kansas  for  free 
dom,  poured  a  steady  tide  of  emigration  into  the  territory, 
and  soon  the  Northern  settlers  outnumbered  their  competi 
tors.  Civil  war  ensued  ;  for  those  in  the  minority  would 
not  submit  to  be  outvoted,  and  the  peaceful  citizens  were 
resolved  to  defend  their  rights.  This  state  of  things  for  a 
considerable  time  rendered  Kansas  a  scene  of  lawlessness  and 
bloodshed  (see  page  253). 

3.  "  The  acquisition  of  California  made  the  importance  of 
commercial  treaties  with  the  nations  of  eastern  Asia  more  and 
more  important.    During  Fillmore's  term,  Commodore  Perry, 

Treaty  brother  of  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie,  was  sent  with  a 
with  Japan,  squadron  to  open  communication  with  the  em 
pire  of  Japan.  The  inhabitants  of  those  islands  from 
time  immemorial  had  excluded  foreigners.  The  authorities 
there  were  greatly  astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  com 
modore  when  he  appeared  with  his  steamers — the  first  that 
ever  floated  on  those  waters — in  the  bay  of  Jeddo  (or  Yedo, 
now  Tokio).  He  was  ordered  to  depart ;  but  he  declined,  and 
insisted  on  seeing  the  proper  authorities  and  making  known 
to  them  the  object  of  his  friendly  visit. 

4.  At  length  a  Japanese  officer  appeared,  who  promised  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  emperor.     The  14th  of  July  (1853), 
was  the  day  named  to  receive  the  letter  from  the  American 
^President.       The    commodore,    escorted  by  a   company   of 
marines,  landed.     He   was  received  with  the   pomp   of   an 
oriental  pageant,  and  an  answer  to  the  letter  promised  the 
following 'spring.      The   answer   was   duly  received,   and  a 
treaty  concluded.     The  merchants  of  the  United  States  ob 
tained  permission  to  trade  in  two  specified  ports,  and  also  for 
the  residence  of  American  citizens  and  consuls  at  the  two 
ports,  as  well  as  to  visit  without  molestation  in  the  interior, 
ten  or  twelve  miles"  (1854). 


Summary.  251 


SUMMARY. 

Washington's  Administration.  The  adoption  of  Hamilton's  financial 
measures  ;  the  war  with  the  Indians  north  of  the  Ohio  ;  the  making 
of  "  Jay's  Treaty  ;"  the  admission  of  Vermont,  Kentucky,  and 
Tennessee  into  the  Union  ;  and  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  were 
tlM  principal  events  during  this  administration  (1789-1797).* 

John  Adams's.  The  hostilities  with  France,  the  death  of  Washington, 
aud  the  removal  of  the  national  capitol  to  the  city  of  Washington 
(1797-1801). 

Jefferson's.  The  admission  of  Ohio  into  the  Union,  the  purchase  of  the 
Louisiana  territory,  the  war  with  the  Barbary  States,  the  duel  be 
tween  Hamilton  and  Burr,  the  trial  of  Burr  for  treason,  and  Fulton's 
steamboat  invention  (1801-1809). 

Madison's.  The  second  war  with  England — of  which  Hull's  surrender 
of  Detroit,  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  Harrison's  successes,  Brown's 
invasion  of  Canada,  MacD enough's  victory  on  Lake  Champlain,  the 
capture  by  the  British  of  the  city  of  Washington,  the  British  repulse 
before  Baltimore,  and  Jackson's  defense  of  New  Orleans,  were  the 
principal  events — marks  this  administration.  The  Hartford  Con 
vention,  the  war  with  Algiers,  and  the  admission  of  Louisiana  and 
Indiana  into  the  Union,  were  also  important  (1809-1817). 

Monroe's.  The  Seminole  war;  the  purchase  of  Florida  ;  the  admission 
of  Mississippi,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Maine,  and  Missouri  into-  the 
Union  ;  the  adoption  of  the  "  Missouri  Compromise  ;"  and  Lafayette's 
visit,  were  the  important  events  (1817-1825). 

John  Quincy  Adams's.  The  death  of  John  Adams  and  of  Jefferson  oc 
curred.  Great  progress  was  made  in  the  work  of  internal  improve 
ments  (1825-183J) 

Jackson's.  Jackson's  war  against  the  United  States  Bank,  the  "  nullifi 
cation"  movement  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  admission  of  Aikansas 
and  Michigan  into  the  Union  (1829-1837) 

Van  Buren's.  "The  Panic  of  1837,"  and  the  formation  of  "  A I  olition 
Societies"  (1837-1841). 

Harrison  and  Tyler's.  The  death  of  Harrison,  Morse's  magnetic-telegraph 
invention,  the  preliminary  measures  for  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
and  the  admission  of  Florida  into  the  Union  (1841-1845). 

Folk's.  The  war  with  Mexico,  of  which  the  campaigns  of  Taylor  and 
Scott  were  the  principal  features,  and  the  acquisition  of  California 
and  other  territory  the  result,  marks  this  administration.  The  dis 
covery  of  gold  in  California  ;  and  the  admission  of  Texas.  Iowa,  and 
Wisconsin  into  the  Union,  were  also  important  (1845-1849). 

Taylor  and  Fillmore's.  The  death  of  Taylor,  the  adoption  of  the  "  Com 
promise  of  1850,"  and  the  admission  of  California  into  the  Union 
(1849-1853).  ' 

Pierce's.  The  repeal  of  the  "  Missouri  Compromise,"  the  civil  war  in 
Kansas,  and  the  treaty  with  Japan,  were  the  principal  events  of  this 
administration  (1853-1857). 


*  For  a  history  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  explanations  of  its 
uflsre,  and  information  rt-spcctinjr  important  features  of  laws  enacted  under  it, 
including  a  history  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  see  the  Appendix. 


252 


Topical  Review. 


TOPICS  FOR  REVIEW 

(See  the  hints  and  directions,  p.  49.) 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 
Washington.     (Let   the  account  be  from  his  inauguration,  and 

include  an  estimate  of  his  character  and  influence.)       -         -  182-194 


Adams,    by 


John    Adams.       (See     Life    and    Works    of  John 

his  grandson,  Charles  Francis  Adams.)  -  -  -  -  146-223 
Thomas  Jefferson.  (See  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson  ;  also  Parton's, 

and  Tucker's.) 145-223 

Alexander  Hamilton.     (See  Life  of  Hamilton,  by  his  son,  J.  C. 

Hamilton;  also  Morse's  Life  of  Hamilton.)  -  -  -  179-200 
Aaron  Burr.  (See  Parton's  Life  of  Burr.)  -----  141-201 
John  Jay,  (See  Life  of  John  Jay,  by  his  son  William  Jay.)  179,  185,  186 
James  Madison.  (See  Rives' s  Life  of  Madison.)  -  -  -  179-219 
James  Monroe.  (See  Lossing's  Lives  of  the  Presidents.)  -  -  219-222 
John  Q.  Adams.  (See  Seward's  Life  of  J.  Q.  Adams  ;  also  Josiah 

Quincy's.)  .      222-227 

Andrew  Jackson.     (See  Parton's  Life  of  Jackson  ;    also  Benton's 

"  Thirty  Years'  View.") 211  (note)-230 

John  C.  Calhoun.  (See  Jenkins's  Life  of  Calhoun.)  -  -  224-247 
Martin  Van  Buren.  (See  Holland's  Life  of  Van  Buren.)  -  -  230-245 
William  H.  Harrison.  (Dawson's  "  Memoirs  of  Harrison.")  205  (note)-235 
John  Tyler.  (See  Lossing's  Lives  of  the  Presidents.)  -  -  234-236 
Daniel  Webster.  (See  Edward  Everett's  Life  of  Webster  ;  also 

Curtis's  ;  also  Lan man's. 147-248 

James  K.  Polk.  (Jenkins's  "  History  of  Folk's  Administration.")  237-245 
Henry  Clay.  (See  Epes  Sargent's  Life  of  Clay  ;  also  Colton's.)  -  222-247 
Zachary  Taylor.  (See  Powell's  Life  of  Taylor.)  -  -  230  (note)-247 
Millard  Fillmore.  (See  Barre's  Life  of  Fill  more.)  -  -  -  247-249 
Franklin  Pierce.  (See  Hawthorne's  Life  of  Pierce.)  -  -  249,  250 

GEOGRAPHICAL. 
Trenton 151-183     Hartford 69,   215 


New  York ... 148-233 

Philadelphia   139-19  L 

NewOrleans   46,    214 

Detroit 111,206,  211 

Lake  Erie 209-211 

Niagara  river 107,111,  212 

Lundy's  Lane 212,  213 

Plattsburg 213 

Washington ..195-213,  247 

Baltimore 213,214 


Pensacola 214,  219 

Boston 127-221 

Chariest.  >n 142-228 

Monterey 239 

Buena  Vista 239 

City  of  Mexico 239-241 

Vera  Cruz 240 

Sacramento  river 243 

San  Francisco 39,  246,  247 

Great  Salt  Lake. .  249 


HISTORICAL. 


Washington's  inauguration  183,  184 

Vermont 158,  184,  185 

The  cotton-gin, 186-188 

The  Louisiana  Purchase.  .  .196-198 

Barbary  States  Wars 198-217 

Duel— Hamilton  and  Burr..         200 

Fulton's  first  steamboat 201-203 

Second  War  with  England. 205-216 
Seminole  Wars  and  Florida 

219-230  (note). 


Missouri  Compromise 220 

Lafayette's    visit 

United  States  Bank 184 

Nullification 228, 

Slavery   58,  112,  114,  188,  220, 
233,  247, 

Railroads 232. 

War  with  Mexico 236 

Magnetic  Telegraph 236 

Gold  in  California  .  .  .243 


-249 
221 

-227 
229 

281, 
249 
233 

-24;) 
237 

-247 


1859 


John  Browrt  s  Raid. 


253 


Buchanan's  Administration. 

1.  As  the  time  for  the  presidential  election  approached, 
three  candidates  were  put  in  nomination.     A  party,  known 
as  the  American  party,  their  leading  principle  being  oppo 
sition  to  "  foreign  in-        The 
fluence,"    and    their  18th  national 
motto,     "  Americans     election- 
should  rule  America,"  presented 
ex-President  Fillmore.      A  new 
party,    the    outgrowth    of    the 
"Free   Soil"    movement,    com 
posed  principally  of  Whigs  and 
Democrats  who  were  opposed  to 
the  extension  of  slavery  into  free 
territory,    nominated    John   0. 
Fremont,    "  the   Pathfinder    of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,"  who  had 

rendered  important  service  in  the  conquest  of  California  during 
the  Mexican  war.  The  Democratic  party,  holding  that  Con 
gress  ought  not  to  interfere  with  the  extension  of  slavery 
"  wherever  it  found  its  way  by  the  people's  choice,"  nominated 
James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  succeeded  in  electing 
him.  The  inauguration  took  place  on  the  4th  of  March,  1857. 

2.  The    slavery  question  continued  to  be  the  prominent 
topic  of  discussion  ;  and  John  Brown's  Raid,  which  occurred 
in   the  fall  of  1859,  still  further  increased  the  bitterness  of 
feeling  then  existing  between  the  two  sections  of  the  coun 
try.     "Old  John  Brown,"   as  he  was   often   called,   "had 
early    conceived    a    fanatical    hatred   against   slavery,    and 
it    became    the   master   passion   of    his  life.     It  john  Brown's 
was  his  day-dream   that   he   should   become    the       raid- 
Moses  of  the  African  race."     After  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill  (1854),  his  four  elder  sons  went  from  Ohio  to 


JAMES  BUCHANAN. 


254  Buchanan's  Administration.  1860 

Kansas  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  making  the  latter  a  free 
State.  They  went  unarmed,  but  coming  into  conflict  with 
the  pro-slavery  men  from  Missouri,  wrote  to  their  father  to 
forward  them  some  rifles.  Instead,  however,  of  sending  the 
rifles,  he  carried  them  himself,  and  with  such  boldness  and 
determination  did  he  oppose  the  designs  of  those  who  wished 
to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State,  that  he  was  both  hated  and 
feared  by  them.  Near  the  town  of  Os-sa-wat'-o-mie,  with 
less  than  twenty  men  he  made  an  obstinate  and  successful 
defense  against  an  attack  of  five  hundred  Missourians,  and 
finally  effected  a  retreat  in  safety.  "  This  encounter  gave 
him  a  sort  of  national  reputation,  and  the  sobriquet  of 
'  Ossawatomie  Brown '  clung  to  him  until  his  death." 

3.  Leaving  Kansas,  he  and  twenty-one  associates  seized  the 
arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
it  a  rendezvous,  his  object  being  to  liberate  slaves  (1859).   But 
he  greatly  miscalculated  as  to  the  encouragement  he  would 
receive  from  the  slaves  and  the  resistance  he  would  meet 
from  the  authorities,  and  the  movement  ended  in  total  failure. 
Those  engaged  in  it  were  overpowered  by  Virginia  troops 
assisted  by  the  national  forces  ;   thirteen    of   their  number 
were  killed,  two  escaped,  and  the  rest,  including  Brown,  were 
tried,  and,  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  were  executed.1 

4.  The  eighth  census  report  showed  a  population  in  the 
United  States  of  thirty-one  and  a  half  millions,  of  whom  four 
millions  were  slaves.     "  This  great  population  was  assisted  in 

its  toils  by  six  millions  of  horses  and  two  millions  of 
Condition  J 

of  the  country  working  oxen.     It  owned  eight  millions  of  cows, 
m  1860.     fifteen  minions  of  other   cattle,  twenty-two  mil- 

1  The  famous  "  Dred  Scott  Decision,"  increased  the  hostile  feeling1  at 
the  North  against  the  slave  power.  Dred  Scott  and  his  wife  were 
slaves,  who  had  been  carried  by  their  master  into  Illinois,  but  were  after 
wards  taken  into  Missouri.  They  claimed  that  having  been  carried  into 
free  territory  by  their  master,  they  had  been  made  free  ;  but  Chief-Jus 
tice  Taney  decided  that  slave  masters  could,  under  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  take  their  slaves  into  any  State  without  any  forfeiture 
of  their  property  in  them,  just  as  they  could  take  their  horses  or  cattle. 
This  decision,  it  was  asserted  by  the  Republicans,  changed  slavery  from 
a  local  to  a  national  institution  ;  and  they  resisted  it  accordingly. 


1860  Secession.  255 

lions  of  sheep,  and  thirty-three  millions  of  hogs.  The 
products  of  the  soil  were  enormous.  The  cotton  crop  of 
that  year  was  close  upon  one  million  tons.  The  grain  crop 
was  twelve  hundred  millions  of  bushels — figures  so  large  as 
to  pass  beyond  our  comprehension.  Tobacco  had  more  than 
doubled  since  1850,  until  now  America  actually  yielded  a  sup 
ply  of  five  hundred  millions  of  pounds.  The  textile  manu 
factures  reached  the  annual  value  of  two  hundred  millions  of 
dollars.  There  were  five  thousand  miles  of  canals,  and  thirty 
thousand  of  railroads.  Provision  had  been  made  for  the  edu 
cation  of  the  children  by  erecting  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand  schools  and  colleges,  and  employing  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  teachers.  The  educational  institutions  enjoyed 
revenues  amounting  to  nearly  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars  ; 
and  the  daily  history  of  the  world  was  supplied  by  four  thou 
sand  newspapers,  which  circulated  annually  one  thousand 
millions  of  copies." 

5.  As  Buchanan's  term  of  office  drew  towards  its  close,  no  less 
than  four  candidates  were  nominated  to  succeed  him. l  Of  these, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans,  was  suc 
cessful,  although  the  Southern  leaders  had  threat 
ened  that,  if  he  should  be  elected,  the  States  of  the 
South  would  secede,  that  is,  would  withdraw  from  the  Union, 
as  they  claimed  the  right  to  do.  When,  therefore,  it  became 
known  that  Lincoln,  the  candidate  of  the  party  opposed  to 
the  further  extension  of  slavery,  would  be  the  next  President, 
the  secession  movement  began.  Public  meetings  were  held 
in  South  Carolina  ;  and,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1860,  an 
ordinance  was  passed  by  a  State  convention,  held  in  Charles 
ton,  which  formally  declared  that  the  "  Union  now  subsist- 

1  The  extreme  pro-slavery  party  nominated  John  C.  Breckenridge, 
who  had  been  Vice-President  under  Buchanan;  the  "  Squatter  Sove 
reignty"  party  nominated  Stephen  A.  Douglass.  These  two  candidates 
divided  the  Democratic  party.  The  American  party,  now  known  as  the 
"  Constitutional  Union,"  nominated  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  with  the 
simple  party  platform,  "  The  Union,  the  Constitution,  and.  thQ  Enforce 
ment  of  the.  Laws," 


256 


Buchanan!  s  Administration. 


1861 


ing  between    South  Carolina   and  other   States,   under  the 
name  of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  hereby  dissolved." 

6.  Six  days  afterward,  Major  Anderson,  of  the  national 
army,  commanding  at  Fort  Moultrie,  withdrew  the  garrison  of 
eighty  men  from  that 

removed 

to    Fort 

Sumter, 

a    place 

of   greater  security. 
This   being  regard- ; 
ed  by  the  South  Car- 


fort,    and 

Occupation 

of 
Fort  Sumter. 


FOKT    SUMTEK,    IN    1860. 


olinians  as  a  hostile 
act,  they  at  once 
seized  the  custom-house  at  Charleston,  as  well  as  other  prop 
erty  belonging  to  the  general  government,  and  commenced 
operations  to  drive  Anderson  from  his  new  position.  (See 
map,  p.  143.) 

7.  Six  other  States — Mississippi,  Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia, 
Louisiana,  and  Texas — following  the 

lead  of  South  Carolina,  passed  seces 
sion  ordinances  in  the  early  part  of 
1861.  In  February  a  Congress  of  dele 
gates  from  all  these  States,  except 
The  Texas,  met  at  Montgome- 

Southern    ry,  and  formed  a  govern- 

Confederacv  n    ^  rm     n     j?   7 

J  ment  called  Hie  Confeder 
ate  States  of  America.  Jefferson  Da 
vis,  of  Mississippi,  was  elected  by  the 
Congress  President  of  the  Confed 
eracy^  and,  Texas  being  then  repre 
sented,  was  duly  inaugurated. 

8.  A  steamer,  sent  from  New  York  with  supplies  and  rein- 
Secession    forcements  for  Fort  Sumter,  arrived  off  Charles- 
deeds,       ton,  but  being  fired  upon  by  the  batteries  which  had 

been  erected  by  the  Confederates,  was  compelled  to  put  back, 


JEFFEKSON    DAVIS. 


1861  Minnesota,  Oregon,  and  Kansas.  257 

Thus  South.  Carolina  commenced  the  war  by  firing  at  the  Amer 
ican  flag  ;  and  "  the  frantic  tumult  spread  along  every  river 
and  over  every  mountain  in  the  slave  States  from  Chesapeake 
bay  to  the  Mexican  frontier."  Forts,  arsenals,  navy-yards,  and 
other  property  of  the  nation,  were  seized  by  State  authority 
for  the  Confederacy.  Fort  Pickens,  near  Pensacola,  Fort 
Sumter,  and  the  forts  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Florida, 
were  all  that  remained  to  the  general  government  within  the 
limits  of  the  seceded  States.  General  Dix,  Secretary  of  the 
National  Treasury,  ordered  two  revenue  cutters,  stationed  at 
New  Orleans,  to  be  taken  to  New  York,  New  Orleans  being 
at  the  time  in  virtual  possession  of  the  secessionists  ;  but  the 
captain  of  one  of  the  cutters  refusing  to  obey,  he  sent  a  tele 
gram  to  the  lieutenant,  ordering  the  arrest  of  the  captain  and 
closing  with  the  command,  "  If  any  one  attempts  to  haul 
down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the  spot." 

9.  Three  States  were  admitted  to  the  Union  during  the  admin- 
istration  of  Buchanan.  Minnesota,  admitted  in  1858,  though 
of  recent  settlement,  had  long  been  the  seat  of  traffic  with  the 
Indians.  Catholic  missionaries  had  also  estab- 
lished  stations  at  an  early  date.  The  eastern  por 
tion  of  the  State,  that  east  of  the  Mississippi,  was  originally  a 
part  of  the  Northwest  Territory  ;  the  other  portion,  embracing 
more  than  two  thirds  of  the  area  of  the  State,  was  originally  a 
part  of  the  "Louisiana  Purchase."  Oregon,  admitted  in 
1859,  was  first  occupied  in  1811,  when  a  fur-trading  post  was 
established  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New 
York,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  and  called 
Astoria.  The  river  had  been  entered,  for  the  first  time, 
twenty  years  before,  by  the  ship  Columbia,  Captain  Gray, 
from  Boston.  The  report ,made  by  Gray  led  President  Jeffer 
son  to  send  the  expedition,  conducted  by  Lewis  &  Clarke, 
which,  ascending  the  Missouri  river  and  descending  the  head 
branches  of  the  Columbia  and  the  Columbia  itself,  reached 
the  Pacific  ocean  (see  page  196).  Kansas,  after  six  years  ef 
angry  agitation,  was  quietly  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1861, 


258  Lincoln's  Administration.  1861 


Lincoln's  Administration. 

1.  The  affairs  of  the  country,  when  Lincoln  entered  upon  the 
office  of  President,  March  4th,  1861,  were  in  a  sadly  distract 
ed  condition.   "  Menaces  that  the  President-elect  would  never 

Lincoln's    be  permitted   to  take 
inauguration.tlie  oatn  Of  office  had 

been  freely  and  loudly  made  ;" 
consequently  General  Scott  took 
every  precaution,  and  the  "  in 
auguration  took  place  amid  a 
greater  display  of  military  than 
had  ever  before  been  witness 
ed  on  such  an  occasion."  In 
his  address,  which  was  mild 
and  conciliatory,  the  President 
declared,  with  special  emphasis, 
that  he  had  no  purpose  or  incli-  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

nation  to  interfere  with  slavery  where  it  already  existed,  fur 
ther  declaring  that  he  had  "  no  lawful  right  to  do  so." 

2.  This  assurance,  however,  had  no  effect  whatever  upon 
the  Southern  leaders.     Avowing  their  duty  to  their  States  as 
more  binding  upon  them  than  their  obligations  to  the  general 

Fall  of  government,  they  continued  to  prepare  for  war. 
Fort  Sumter.  A  force  of  several  thousand  men  was  put  under 
the  command  of  General  Beauregard  (bo'-re-gard),  who  was 
ordered  to  reduce  Fort  Sumter  ;  and,  accordingly,  "  the 
roar  of  a  mortar  quickly  followed  by  the  rushing  shriek 
of  a  shell,  gave  notice  to  the  world  that  the  era  of  compro 
mise  and  diplomacy  was  ended"  (April  12,  1861).  Soon  all 
the  guns  of  the  assailiants  were  in  operation,  and  in  the  course 
of  thirty-four  hours,  more  than  three  thousand  shot  and  shell 
struck  the  works.  The  defense  was  feeble,  owing  to  the 
smallness  of  the  garrison  and  the  scanty  supply  of  ammuni 
tion.  In  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Anderson  said: 
"  Having  defended  Fort  Sumter  until  the  quarters  were  en- 


1861  Secession  of  other  States.  259 

tirely  burned,  the  main  gates  destroyed  by  fire,  the  gorge 
wall  seriously  injured,  the  magazine  surrounded  by  flames, 
and  its  door  closed  from  the  effects  of  the  heat,  four  barrels 
and  three  cartridges  of  powder  only  being  available,  and  no 
provisions  but  pork  remaining,  I  accepted  the  terms  of  evacu 
ation  offered  by  General  Beauregard,  and  marched  out  of  the 
fort  on  Sunday  afternoon,  the  14th  hist."  On  the  following 
day  Anderson  sailed  with  his  command  for  New  York. 

3.  "The  welcome  event,"  said  a  Southern  writer,  "was 
instantly  announced  in  every  part  of  Charleston  by  the  ring 
ing  of  bells,  the  pealing  of  cannon,  the  shouts  of  couriers 
dashing  through  the  streets,  and  by  every  indica-       H 

tion  of  general  rejoicing."  "  It  was  regarded  as  the  news  was 
the  greatest  day  in  the  history  of  South  Oaroli-  received- 
na."  While  exultation  prevailed  at  the  South,  the  news  that 
the  national  flag  had  been  fired  upon  and  that  Fort  Sumter 
had  fallen  produced  an  intense  feeling  of  indignation  at  the 
North.  Thousands  of  northern  men  who  had  previously 
been  in  sympathy  with  the  South,  now  declared  themselves 
in  favor  of  the  Union  ;  and  President  Lincoln's  call  for 
seventy-five  thousand  troops  met  with  a  hearty  and  favorable 
response  from  all  the  free  States.1  Political  differences  were 
forgotten  in  the  impulse  to  defend  the  national  government. 
Two  days  after  Lincoln's  call  for  troops,  Davis  issued  a  pro 
clamation  inviting  privateers  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  this  was  followed  by  one  from  Lincoln, 
declaring  the  ports  of  the  Confederate  States  to  be  in  a  state 
of  blockade  (April,  1861). 

4.  With  the  exception  of  Delaware,  not  one  of   the  slave 
States  arranged  itself  promptly  and  decidedly  on  the  side  of  the 
Union.     Lincoln's  call  for  troops  had  been  addressed  to  all 

1  A  Massachusetts  regiment,  on  its  way  to  the  defense  of  the  capital, 
was  attacked,  April  19th.  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  by  a  mob  of  South 
ern  sympathizers.  Bricks,  stones,  and  pieces  of  iron  were  thrown  from 
the  upper  windows  of  houses,  and  two  of  the  soldiers  were  killed.  Thus 
the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  was  signalized  by  the  com 
mencement  of  bloodshed  in  the  Great  Civil  War, 


lancastcr 
York  %* 


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derick    BALTIMORE 


PART  OF 

MARYLAND 


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JUizabctTi  Citj 

I     NWA, 


1861  Battle  of  Bull  Run.  261 

the  States  that  had  not  passed  secession  ordinances,  but 
four  of  them — Virginia,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and 
North  Carolina — sent  back  defiant  replies,  and  of 
soon  joined  the  Confederacy.  Virginians  marched  other  states- 
to  attack  Harper's  Ferry,  "  but  the  officer  in  charge  of  that 
establishment  having  become  aware  of  what  was  intended, 
blew  up  or  set  on  fire  the  various  workshops  and  the  arsenal, 
and  effected  a  safe  retreat.  At  the  same  time  another  party 
of  Virginians  prepared  to  seize  the  great  naval  station,  the 
navy-yard  near  Norfolk.  It  contained  fourideries,  ship 
yards,  docks,  and  machine  shops.  There  were  in  it  at  least 
two  thousand  cannon,  magazines  containing  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  pounds  of  gunpowder,  and  great  quanti 
ties  of  shot  and  shell.  There  were  also  twelve  war  ships." 
A  part  of  this  immense  property,  valued  at  ten  millions  of 
dollars,  was  destroyed  by  the  Union  officers,  who  then  fled, 
but  the  Confederates  secured  a  vast  amount  and  were  thus 
armed,  and  provided  with  means  for  carrying  on  the  war. 

5.  It  can    hardly  be    said  that  the  national  government 
made  any  offensive  movement  before  the  24th  of  May.    Then, 
General  Scott,  commanding  the  Union  army,  sent   a   force 
into  Virginia,  which  occupied  Arlington  Heights,   __ 
opposite  the  city  of  Washington,  and  Alexandria.       of  the 
General  Butler,  commanding  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Union  troop8' 
"  the  largest  and  most  powerful  military  work  in  the  repub 
lic,"  sent  an  expedition  to  drive  the  Confederates  from  two 
positions  which  they  occupied  a  few  miles  from  the  fortress  ; 
but  it  resulted  in  disaster  (June  10th).     In  West  Virginia, 
however,  the  Union  general,  George  B.  McClellan,  was  vic 
torious  in  several  engagements. 

6.  After  the  secession  of  Virginia,  Richmond  became  the 
capital  of  the  Confederacy  ;  and  the  Southern  army,  number 
ing  a  hundred  thousand  men,  occupied  a  line  through  the 
State  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Norfolk.     Of  this      Battle 
army,  a  large   force,   under  Beauregard,  was    at  of  Bul1  EiUn- 
Manassas  Junction,  in  front  of  which  was  the  little  stream  of 


262  Lincoln's  Administration.  1861 

Bull  Run,  in  a  narrow  wooded  valley.  As  the  Union  troops 
were  raw  and  inexperienced,  Scott  hesitated  to  order  a  general 
advance,  though  the  people  of  the  North  were  very  impatient 
because  of  the  delay,  and  urged  him  to  move  "  on  to  Rich 
mond,"  and  thus  end  the  war.  At  length  orders  were  given 
to  General  McDowell,  who  commanded  a  large  part  of  the 
Union  forces,  to  attack  Beau  regard.  A  desperate  conflict 
ensued,  in  which  more  than  forty  thousand  men  were  en 
gaged.  The  advantage  at  first  was  upon  the  side  of  the 
Union  army  ;  but  the  Confederates,  being  largely  re-enforced, 
at  last  prevailed,  and  the  national  troops,  exhausted  and 
panic-stricken,  fled  in  disorder  towards  Washingon  (July  21st). 

7.  This  great  disaster  taught  the  people  of  the  North  that 
the  task  they  had  undertaken  was  greater  than  they  had  sup 
posed  ;  but  they  did  not  waver.     It  stimulated  them  to  greater 

jj-ew  exertions.  Congress  voted  to  raise  more  money  and 
war  measures.  men.  ( '  Having  chosen  our  course, ' '  said  Lincoln, 
"  without  guile,  and  with  good  purpose,  let  us  renew  our  trust 
in  God,  and  go  forward  without  fear  and  with  manly  hearts." 
McClellan,  whose  campaign  in  West  Virginia  had  given 
him  the  reputation  of  an  able  commander,  was  called  to 
Washington  to  be  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the 
aged  Scott,  on  account  of  his  bodily  in 
firmities,  retiring  from  active  service. 
Soon  after,  Scott,  at  his  own  request, 
having  been  placed  on  the  retired  list, 
McClellan  was  made  commander-in- 
chief  under  the  president ;  and  the  for 
tifications  around  Washington  were 
strengthened  so  as  to  protect  the  capital 
from  capture. 

8,  In  the  meantime  civil  war  raged 

Tvr.  •        i  ,-,  PC  £    ji  GENERAL  M  CLELLAN. 

in  Missouri  ;  but  the  efforts  of  the  se- 

The  war    cessionists  to  take  the  State  out  of  the  Union  were 

in  Missouri,  frustrated,  mainly  through  the  prompt  action  of 

General   Lyon,    aided    by   Colonel    Sigel    (se'-gel}.     Having 


1861  Naval  Operations.  263 

been  confronted  by  a  vastly  superior  force,  at  Wilson's  Creek, 
near  Springfield,  and  fearing  that  a  backward  movement 
would  be  fatal  to  the  cause,  Lyon  made  an  attack  upon  the 
Confederates,  but  was  defeated  and  slain  (Aug.  10th). L  General 
Fremont,  Lyon's  successor  in  the  command  at  the  West, 
formed  a  large  army  to  drive  the  Confederates  from  Missouri, 
but  while  marching  against  them  was  superseded  in  the  com 
mand  by  the  authorities  at  Washington  (Nov.). 

9.  Events  showed  that,  to  complete  the  blockade,  nearly  six 
hundred  vessels,  most  of  them  steamers,  would  be  required. 
Already  the  increase  in  the  navy  had  been  very  rapid,  more 
than  two  hundred  vessels  having  been  added  to  the      Naval 
little  fleet  of  about  forty  at  the  opening  of  the  operations, 
war.     These  were    doing  effective    service,   but  still  in  the 
darkness    of  night    fast-sailing  steamers,  called    "blockade 
runners,"  would  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  watchers,  and  get 
away  with  their  cargoes  of  cotton,  and  get  back  again  from 
England   with  muskets,  powder,  and  other  supplies   much 
needed  by  the  Confederates.     Every  month,  however,  as  the 
blockade  fleet  was  increased,  fewer  vessels  succeeded  in  get 
ting   out  of    the  Southern    ports.     That  the  blockade  was 
finally  complete  was  shown  by  the  destitution  of  the  South, 
and  the  fact  that  there  remained  in  the  Southern  States  at 
the  close  of  the  war  cotton  of  the  value  of  three  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  in  gold.8 

10.  A  number  of  privateers  were  fitted  out  by  the  Confed 
erates  to  roam  over  the  sea  and  prey  upon  the  merchant  ships 
of  the  North.     One  of  the  most  successful  of  these  was  the 

1  This  was  followed,  a  little  more  than  a  month  later,  by  the  surrender 
of  Colonel  Mulligan,  after  an  heroic  defense  lasting  through  four  days, 
to  a  Confederate  force  five  times  as  large  as  his  own.     In  November,  a 
body  of  Union  troops  from  Illinois,  under  General  Grant,  made  a  success 
ful  attack  upon  Belmont,  Missouri,  capturing  the  Confederate  encamp 
ment  there  ;  but,  on  their  way  back  to  the  river,  suffered  severe  loss 
from  fresh  troops  under  General  Polk. 

2  During  the  year  1861  the  forts  at  the  blockaded  ports  of  Hatteras 
Inlet  and  Port  Royal  entrance  were  captured  and  converted  into  depots 
of  supplies  for  the  Union  fleet. 


264  Lincoln ]s  Administration.  1861 

steamer  Sumter,  Captain  Semmes  (semz),  which  succeeded  in 
Confederate  running  the  blockade  of  New  Orleans  in  June, 
privateers.   After  capturing  a  number  of  vessels,  she  crossed  the 
Atlantic  to  deceive  the  cruisers  in  pursuit,  and  entered  the  bay 
of  Gibraltar,  where  she  was  overtaken  by  a  United  States  gun 
boat,  and  not  being  able  to  escape,  was  sold.    Semmes  and  her 
crew  then  went  to  England  and  obtained  a  faster  vessel,  which, 
under  the  name  of  the  Alabama,  afterwards  became  famous 
for  its  capture  and  destruction  of  American  ships. 

11.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  an  event  occurred  which 
threatened  to  put  an  end  to  the  peaceful  relations  existing 
between  England  and  the  United  States.  Mason  and  Slidell, 
The  Confederate  ambassadors  to  England  and  France, 
Trent  affair,  had  run  tne  blockade,  and  taken  passage  at 
Havana  in  the  English  steamer  Trent.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  port  the  Trent  was  intercepted  by  a  war 
vessel  of  the  United  States,  commanded  by  Captain  Wilkes 
(wilks),  and  the  two  ambassadors  were  seized  and  held  as 
prisoners.  The  people  of  the  North  heartily  commended  the 
conduct  of  the  American  captain,  but  Lincoln  said  :  "  Cap 
tain  Wilkes  undoubtedly  meant  well,  but  it  will  never  do. 
This  is  the  very  thing  the  British  captains  used  to  do.  They 
claimed  the  right  of  searching  American  ships  and  taking 
men  out  of  them.  That  was  the  cause  of  the  war  of  1812. 
Now,  we  cannot  abandon  our  own  principles  ;  we  shall  have 
to  give  these  men  up,  and  apologize  for  what  we  have  done." 
The  news  produced  a  violent  excitement  in  England,  and 
preparations  were  at  once  made  for  war  ;  but  Lincoln's 
decision  was  carried  out,  and  the  demands  of  the  British 
government  were  thus  satisfied. ' 

1  A  feeling  of  indignation  existed  in  the  North  against  Great  Britain 
for  having,  in  May,  1861,  recognized  the  Confederacy  as  ft  belligerent 
power,  setting  an  example  which  France  and  other  European  powers 
soon  followed.  The  prompt  surrender,  however,  of  these  Commission 
ers  was  an  act  of  prudence  ;  for,  had  war  ensued  with  Great  Britain, 
it  would  have  greatly  aided  the  secession  cause.  Mason  and  Slidell  were 
confined  in  Fort  Warren,  Boston  harbor,  whence  they  were  sent  to  Eng 
land. 


1862  Union  Successes.  265 


SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

12.  The  whole  Union  force  in  the  field  at  the  beginning  of 
1862  reached  the  enormous  number  of  five  hundred  thousand 
men.     The  Confederate  force  was  somewhat  less.     From  a 
point   on    the    Mississippi,    a  few   miles   below   Cairo,    the 
entire  river  to  its  mouth  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Con 
federates,  and  great  preparations  were  made  by  both  parties, 
one  to  retain  and  the  other  to  gain  the  mastery  of  the  river. 

13.  In  Kentucky,  the  Confederates  were  defeated  at  Mill 
Spring  by  General  Thomas.   Commodore  (afterwards  Admiral) 
Foote,  commanding  a  fleet  of  gunboats,  sailed  up  the  Tennes 
see,  and  reduced  Fort  Henry.     A  few  days  later,      union 
General  Grant,  with  the  aid  of  the  gunboats,  made     successes, 
an  attack  upon  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  Cumberland  river.  The 
garrison,  fifteen  thousand  strong,  made  a  desperate  defense 
of  four  days  ;  but  the  Confederate  generals,  Floyd  and  Pil 
low,  when  they  found  that  the  fort  could  no  longer  be  held, 
fled  in  the  darkness  of  night.     When  General  Buckner,  on 
whom  the  command  of  the  fort  devolved,  the  next  morning 
asked  Grant  for  an  armistice  to  arrange  terms  of  capitulation, 
the  latter  replied:  "  No  terms  other  than  an  unconditional 
and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted"  l  (Feb.  16th,  1862). 

14.  The  capture  of  these  two  forts  caused  the  evacuation 
of  Columbus— the  so-styled  "  Gibraltar  of  the  West" — and  of 
Nashville,  the  capital  of  Tennessee.     A  dispatch  had  been 
received  at  the  latter  place,  congratulating  its  authorities  "  on 
a  great  Confederate  victory  won    by  the  garrison  of  Fort 
Donelson.     The  city  was  in  a  delirium  of  delight  ;  but  on 
Sunday  morning,  while  the  people  were  at  church  engaged  in. 
returning  thanks,  news  came  that  the  fort  had  fallen.     A 
scene  of  hideous  confusion  at  once  ensued.     The  congrega 
tions  rushed  into  the  streets.     Every  conveyance  at  hand  was 
seized  for  the  purpose  of  escaping  from  the  place.     Trunks 

1  This  led  to  the  title  U(iicouditional)  S(urreuder)  Grant. 


26(5  Lincoln's  Administration.  1862 

and  valuables  were  thrown  from  upper  windows  ;  women,  in 
terror,  fled  away,  and  a  mob  hastened  to  plunder  the  aban 
doned  Confederate  stores."  Foote,  with  his  gunboats, 
descended  the  Mississippi,  and,  aided  by  General  Pope,  cap 
tured  Island  No.  10,  one  of  the  strongest  of  the  Confederate 
posts.  A  short  time  after,  Memphis  was  taken,  the  flotilla 
of  gunboats  for  its  protection  having  been  defeated  "  in  a 
contest  resembling  in  many  particulars  the  naval  combats  of 
ancient  times."  The  successes  of  the  Union  fleet  were  stop 
ped  at  Vicksburg,  which  was  very  strongly  fortified. 

15.  Grant's  army,  after  the  victory  at  Fort  Donelson,  pro 
ceeded  up  the  Tennessee  river,  by  direction  of  General  Hal- 
leek,  the  commander  of  the  Western  Department  ;  and  Pitta- 
Battle      burg   Landing,  a  steamboat  station   on  the  west 

of  Shiloh.  bank  of  the  river,  was  occupied.  The  encampment 
extended  along  the  road  to  Corinth,  on  the  right  and  left  of 
a  little  log  building  known  as  Shiloh  Church.  Here,  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th  of  April,  Grant  was  attacked  by  a  large 
force  under  General  A.  S.  Johnston,  and,  after  a  contest 
which  raged  till  near  nightfall,  the  Union  troops  were  driven 
to  the  river,  where  they  were  protected  by  the  gunboats. 
Johnston  was  killed.  The  next  day,  reinforcements  having 
arrived  for  Grant,  the  Confederates,  commanded  by  Beaure- 
gard,  were  in  turn  driven  from  their  position  and  compelled 
to  retreat  (April  7th,  1862). 

16.  The  Union  cause  was  also  successful  in  Louisiana.     A 
naval  expedition,  commanded  by  Captain  (afterwards  Com 
modore)  Farragut,  including  a* flotilla  of  armed  steamers  and 

Taking  of  mortar  boats,  under  the  orders  of  Captain  Porter, 
New  Orleans,  saiie(i  from  the  Atlantic  coast  and  entered  the 
Mississippi,  the  great  object  of  the  expedition  being  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans.  About  thirty  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  river  were  two  forts,  which,  in  the  estima 
tion  of  the  Confederates,  were  the  main  defense  of  the  city. 
For  six  days  the  fleet  poured  an  incessant  fire  upon  these 
forts,  which  was  responded  to  with  vigor.  "  At  last  Farragut 


1862  Taking  of  New  Orleans.  267 

resolved  to  run  by  them.  It  was  a  hazardous  undertaking. 
As  the  fleet  advanced  in  order,  and  approached  the  forts, 
each  boat  delivered  a  terrific  fire,  and  shot  and  shell  belched 
forth  from  scores  of  guns.  A  dozen  thunder  shorms  never 
roared  more  terrifically  than  did  the  peal  of  hostile  cannon. 
Still  the  gallant  fleet  kept  on  and  passed  the  forts.  Just 
then  it  was  attacked  by  more  than  a  dozen  Confederate 
steamers,  and  such  a  naval  battle  ensued  as  baffles  all 
description.  Suddenly  the  foremost  Federal  vessels  were  in 
the  midst  of  the  Confederate  fleet.  Some  of  the  latter's 
boats  were  rams,  and  they  came  rushing  down  the  stream  at 
full  speed,  butting  into  the  Union  fleet,  singling  out  boats 
which  they  designed  to  sink,  and  then  dashing  into  them 
with  fury.  The  noise  was  awful.  The  guns  in  the  fleets  and* 
forts,  belching  forth  at  once,  together  with  the  explosion  of 
boilers  and  magazines,  and  the  shrieks  of  scalded  and 
wounded  men,  made  an  appalling  noise.  And  then,  too, 
steamboats  were  ablaze  ;  and  a  huge  fire-raft,  ploughing  and 
cracking  through  the  fleet,  and  setting  fire  to  Farragut's  flag 
ship,  added  terror  to  the  scene.  It  seemed  as  if  both  fleets 
must  perish  together  in  the  deadly  contest.  But  the  victory 
was  Farragut's,  and  he  pushed  on  for  New  Orleans."  1 

17.  The  people  of  that  city  were  thrown  into  "  a  panic  as 
soon  as  they  learned  that  the  Union  fleet  had  passed  the 
forts  and  destroyed  their  gunboats.  They  ran  hither  and 
thither  in  the  streets,  frantic  with  fright  and  madness  ;  and 
sugar,  molasses,  cotton,  and  other  articles  of  merchandise, 
were  destroyed  by  them  in  large  quantities.  Gold  and  silver 
coin  was  taken  from  the  banks  and  carried  away.  In  the 
midst  of  a  thunder  storm,  Farragut  anchored  his  squadron  off 
New  Orleans"  (April  25th),  and,  a  few  days  later,  General 


1  Meanwhile  important  successes  attended  the  efforts  of  the  Unionists 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  A  land  and  naval  expedition  captured  Roanoke 
island.  Elizabeth  city  was  also  captured,  after  a  flotilla  for  its  defense 
was  destroyed  ;  a  victory  was  gained  at  Newbern  ;  and  Fort  Pulaski, 
defending  Savanuah,  was  another  Union  trophy. 


268  Lincoln's  Administration.  1862 

Butler,  who  had  remained  near  the  bombarded  forts  and 
completed  their  reduction,  entered  the  city  and  placed  it 
under  martial  law.  Butler  found  it  no  easy  task  to  govern 
the  city,  but  k'  by  severity  he  put  down  the  mob.  He  cleaned 
the  streets,  enforced  sanitary  regulations,  and  kept  out 
yellow  fever." 

18.  While   disaster   was   thus   attending   the  Confederate 
cause  in  Louisiana,  an  event  occurred  at  the  east  which  gave 
new  life  to  it.     At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  steam 

Attack  of  frigate  Merrimac,  one  of  the  finest  vessels  in  the 
the  Virginia.  American  navy,  costing  more  than  a  million  of 
dollars,  was  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Norfolk,  Virginia.  As 
elsewhere  stated,  the  Union  officers  in  charge  there  de 
stroyed  a  large  amount  of  property,  in  order  to  prevent  its 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates.  They  undertook 
to  destroy  the  Merrimac,  but  only  partially  succeeded.  The 
vessel  was  sunk,  but  her  hull  and  machinery  were  not  much 
injured.  The  Confederates,  after  taking  possession  of  Nor 
folk  and  its  navy  yard,  raised  her  without  difficulty,  cut  down 
her  hull  almost  to  the  water's  edge,  and  covered  it  with  a 
thick  plating  of  iron.  A  new  name  was  then  given  to  her — 
the  Virginia.  This  vessel,  on  the  8th  of  March,  steamed  out 
from  Norfolk,  and  destroyed  the  Federal  ships  of  war  Cum 
berland  and  Congress,  which,  unprepared  for  an  encounter 
with  such  vessels,  could  make  no  effectual  resistance.  Only 
the  coming  on  of  night  prevented  the  destruction  of  the 
beautiful  frigate  Minnesota,  and  other  national  vessels  ;  and 
it  was  anticipated  that  on  the  next  day  the  iron-clad  monster 
would  complete  her  work. 

19.  In   the   early   part   of   the   night,  however,  a  newly- 
invented  floating  battery,  called  the  Monitor/  arrived  from 

1  This  vessel  was  designed  and  built  at  New  York  by  Captain  Ericsson. 
She  was  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  and  as,  owing  to  the 
great  weight  of  iron  on  her  surface,  she  projected  but  slightly  above  the 
water,  she  looked  like  a  raft  bearing  a  round  turret  about  twenty  feet  in 
diameter  and  nine  feet  high.  She  was  covered  with  nine-inch  plates  of 
iron,  and  was  worked  by  a  steam-engine  entirely  protected  from  the  as 
sailant's  shot. 


1862 


Battle  of  the  Iron  S7iips. 


269 


New  York.     "  In  the  bright  morning  of  the  following  day, 
Sunday,  the  Virginia  was  seen  rounding  the  point      Battle 
of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elizabeth  river.     She    ^  of  the 
approached  the  Minnesota;  but,  lying  near  that     lronslllP8' 
vessel,  which  was  still  stranded  and  supposed  to  be  doomed,  was 
a  curious  object,  which  some  of  the  crew  of  the  Virginia, 
straining  their  eyes,  compared  to  a  prodigious  i  cheese-box  on 
a  plank.'     It  was  another  iron-clad — an  experiment  in  naval 


FIGHT   BETWEEN   THE   VIRGINIA   AND   THE    MONITOR. 


architecture,  which  had  come  just  in  time  to  match  the  Con 
federate-curiosity  in  floating  batteries.  The  new  actor  on  the 
scene  vvhi.;li  had  come  in  such  a  dramatic  coincidence  was  a 
defensive  structure,  different  in  appearance  from  any  vessel 
that  had  previously  been  used  in  war.  Her  deck,  unpro 
tected  by  any  bulwark,  rose  about  two  feet  above  the  water, 
whilst  from  it  projected  a  turret  about  nine  feet  high,  and  a 
small  box-looking  place  at  the  stern,  used  as  a  pilot-house. 
In  the  turret  she  carried  her  sole  armament,  two  heavy  guns. 


270  Lincoln *s  Administration.  1862 

20.  The  two  strange  combatants  approached  each  other  ; 
and  when  within  about   one    hundred   yards'  distance   the 
Monitor  opened  fire.     The  contest  continued  for  the  space  of 
two  hours,  the  distance  between  the  two  vessels  varying  from 
half  a  mile  to  close  quarters,  in  which  they  were  almost  side 
to  side,  belching  out  their  fire,  the  heavy  blows  on  the  iron 
sides  of  each  being  the  only  effect  of  the  terrific  cannonade. 
The  strange-looking  battery,  with  its  black,  revolving  cupola, 
was  more  easily  turned  than  the  Virginia,  and  had  the  greater 
speed.     The  great  length  and  draft  of  the  Virginia  rendered  it 
exceedingly  difficult  to  work   her.     Once,  in  changing   her 
position,  she  got  aground,  but  succeeded  in  getting  off  again, 
and,  turning  rapidly  towards  the  Monitor,  steamed  directly  at 
her,  hoping  with  her  terrible  armed  prow,  to  end  the  contest. 
But  the  blow  was  not  fairly  given,  and  merely  scraped  the 
iron  plates  of  her  antagonist."     At  last  the  Virginia,  in  a 
disabled  condition,  steamed  back  to  Norfolk. 

21.  In  the  meantime,  a  vast  army  had  been  collected  near 
Washington,  under  McClellan,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
capture  the  Confederate  capital.     Early  in  March  an  advance 

The  was  ordered.  McClellan  embarked  his  troops  for 
Peninsula  Fortress  Monroe,  whence  he  commenced  his  march 
campaign.  ^  ^Q  pen|nsu|a  between  the  York  and  James 
rivers.  "  On  to  Richmond,"  was  at  that  time,  a  war-cry  of 
the  northern -people,  "  not  because  Richmond  was  a  source 
of  strength  to  the  Confederacy,  not  because  it  offered  any 
historical  recollections,  not  because  it  was  the  emblem  of 
a  nationality,  but  because  it  was  in  the  eyes"  of  the  people 
loyal  to  the  Union,  "  a  token  of  defiance  to  the"  North.  As 
McClellan 's  plan  of  operations  would  leave  Washington  with 
out  adequate  protection,  Lincoln  detained  an  army  corps, 
under  McDowell,  for  its  security.  It  was  expected  that 
McClellan  would  make  a  rapid  march  against  Richmond  ; 
but  instead  of  this,  the  whole  month  of  April  was  consumed 
in  throwing  up  earthworks.  The  Confederates,  having 
abandoned  their  works  and  fallen  back,  an  advance  column, 


1862  The  Peninsula  Campaign.  271 

under  General  Hooker,  overtook  the  rear  guard  of  the  re 
treating  army  at  Williamsburg,  where  a  battle  took  place. 
Towards  the  latter  part  of  May,  McClellan  had  advanced  to 
within  seven  miles  of  Richmond.  Meanwhile,  General  Wool, 
proceeding  from  Fortress  Monroe,  took  possession  of  Nor 
folk,  which  had  been  abandoned  by  direction  of  the  authori 
ties  at  Richmond.  In  consequence  of  this  loss,  the  Confed 
erates,  on  the  following  day,  destroyed  their  famous  iron 
clad,  the  Virginia. 

22.  At  Fair  Oaks,  McClelland  army  was  attacked  (May 
31),  and  a  bloody  but  indecisive  battle  ensued,  lasting  nearly 
two  days.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  the  Confederate 
general-in-chief.  having  been  severely  wounded,  was  relieved 
from  duty,  and  General  Lee  appointed  to  the  command. 
General  Jackson,  popularly  known  as 
"Stonewall  Jackson,"  having  defeated 
or  eluded  the  Union  armies  in  the 
Shenandoah  valley,1  joined  Lee,  and 
by  a  rapid  movement  threatened  the 
communications  of  McClellan's  army. 
After  almost  a  month  spent  on  the 
banks  of  the  Chickahominy,  McClel 
lan,  believing  that  the  forces  at  his 
disposal  were  not  sufficient  to  protect 

his  lines,  transferred  his  base  of  oper- 
,.  j_i       T  •  TTTI  -1        o        T.  J.  JACKSON  (Stonewall). 

ations  to  the  James  river.  While  ef 
fecting  this  movement,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Confederates, 
and  a  series  of  destructive  battles  ensued,  which  continued 
during  seven  days  (June  25- July  1).  In  the  last  of  these 
engagements — at  Malvern  Hill — Lee  was  repulsed,  and  Mc 
Clellan  was  then  enabled  to  retire  to  Harrison's  Landing,  on 

"  He  had  been  pursued  in  vain  by  three  major-generals  (Fremont, 
McDowell,  and  Banks),  and  turning  had  made  good  his  retreat.  He  had 
diverted  large  re-enforcements  from  McClellan,  had  neutralized  a  nation 
al  force  of  60,000  men,  and  given  to  the  Southern  armies  the  prestige  of 
victory.  "—Draper.  The  appellation  Stonewall  owed  its  origin  to 'a  re 
mark  made  by  one  of  Jackson's  officers.  The  officer  said  that  at  the  bat 
tle  of  Bull  Run  (July,  1861),  Jackson  "  stood  like  a  stone  wall." 


272 


Lincoln*1  s  Administration. 


1862 


the  James  river.     "  Thus  ended  the  great,  the  melancholy 
peninsula  expedition."     It  was  a  terrible  failure. 

23.  At  this  time  there  were  three  armies  in  the  vicinity  of 
Washington,  one  of  which  was  under  the  command  of  Fre 
mont,  another,  of  Banks,  and  the  third,  of  McDowell.  These 

Lee,g       were  united,  forming  one  body,  called  the  Army 

first  invasion  of  Virginia,  and  General  Pope  was  called  from  the 

ortht  West  and  placed  in  command.     Halleck  was  also 

called  from   the  West,  and    appointed  commander-in-chief, 

with  his  headquarters  at    Washington.     As  all    thought  of 

advancing  against  Richmond  for 
the  time  being  was  abandoned, 
McClellan's  army  was  ordered  to 
join  the  new  army  under  Pope, 
who  proposed  to  march  on  Rich 
mond  by  another  route.  Relieved 
from  the  immediate  task  of  de 
fending  their  capital,  the  Confed 
erates  moved  northward  to  menace 
Washington.  Jackson,  command 
ing  the  advance,  attacked  the 
force  under  Banks  at  Cedar 
Mountain,  and  compelled  its  re 
treat.  The  main  army,  under 
Pope,  encountered  the  entire 
Confederate  army,  and  though  the  Union  forces  were  inferior 
in  numbers,  not  having  been  re-enforced  to  any  considerable 
extent  by  McClellan's  troops,  the  Confederates  were  long 
held  at  bay  before  Pope  gave  the  order  to  retire.  This  con 
test  is  known  as  the  Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run  (Aug.  29, 
30).  Lee,  taking  advantage  of  his  victory,  crossed  the 
Potomac  into  Maryland. 

24.  Pope,  at  his  own  request,  having  been  relieved,  Mc- 
Clellan  was  again  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  Federal 
forces  in  and  around  Washington.     "  The  Confederate  gen 
eral  had  supposed  that  large  re-enforcements  would  flock  to 


GENERAL  ROBERT   E.    LEE 


1862        Lee*  s  First  Invasion  of  the  North.          273 

him  in  Maryland,  but  in  this  he  was  destined  to  disappoint 
ment"  McClellan,  following*  Lee,  the  invaders  were  over 
taken  at  South  mountain,  and  though  they  were  defeated  in 
the  battle  that  ensued  (Sept.  14),  Harper's  Ferry,  with  its  gar 
rison  of  more  than  eleven  thousand  men,  and  its  vast  muni 
tions  of  war,  was  surrendered  to  a  division  of  their  army  on 
the  following  morning.  The  captors  of  this  important  posi 
tion  hurried  across  the  Potomac  into  Maryland,  and  joined 
Lee  along  the  western  bank  of  An-tie'-tam  creek,  a  sluggish 
stream  that  flows  into  the  Potomac.  McClellan7 s  army, 
coming  up,  the  Confederates  were  attacked  (Sept.  17).  "  Not 
by  military,  but  by  political  reasons  was  Lee  constrained  to 
fight  the  battle.  The  South  would  never  be  satisfied  with  the 
barren  laurels  acquired  from  Pope,  nor  was  it  possible  to 
give  up  the  expedition  to  the  North  without  a  struggle." 
The  Southern  troops  made  a  most  gallant  defense,  but, 
though  they  were  not  the  victors,  the  result  was  not  as  deci 
sive  as  might  have  been  expected  from  the  superior  number  of 
the  assailants. 

25.  "  Long  before  the  next  day  broke,  the  national  troops, 
rising  from  their  rest  on  the  bare  ground,  made  ready  their  cof 
fee,  and  eating  their  simple  breakfast,  prepared  for  a  renewal  of 
the  battle.  They  believed  that  Lee  had  no  escape."  The  river 
was  at  his  back.  All  that  day  passed  and  a  second  wearisome 
night,  and  "  then  there  was  news.  Lee  had  given  McClellan 
the  slip.  He  had  actually  crossed  the  Potomac  unmolested, 
and  escaped  into  Virginia."  Lee's  army,  though  foiled  and 
compelled  to  retreat,  won  commendation  from  foes  as  well  as 
friends.  "  It  had  fought  its  way  to  the  Potomac,  crossed  the 
stream,  met  the  Union  troops  in  two  heavy  engagements, 
fought  the  battle  of  Antietam — the  greatest  pitched  battle  of 
the  war1 — and  then  recrossed  the  Potomac,  back  into  Vir- 

1  "  Stuart,  commanding  a  portion  of  Lee's  cavalry,  recrossed  the -Poto 
mac,  and  made  a  raid  into  Pennsylvania.  He  captured  Chambersburg, 
destroying  a  large  quantity  of  supplies.  He  made  a  complete  circuit 
round  McClellan's  army,  and  returned  into  Virginia  The  Confederates 
might  truly  boast  that  they  had  at  length  carried  the  war  into  the  Free 
States." 


276  Lincoln's  Administration.  1863 

which  the  country  was  soon  flooded.  The  necessity  of  actual 
Misapplication  money  in  the  treasury  and  the  mode  of  raising 
of  means,  jt  were  generally  understood.  It  was  that  the 
Government  should  take  the  cotton  from  the  owners  and 
send  it  to  Europe  as  fast  as  possible  to  be  sold  there. 
The  owners  were  willing  to  accept  any  terms  that  might  be 
fixed  ;  and  sending  to  Europe  was  easy  in  all  the  first  year  of 
the  Confederacy's  existence.  Its  government  went  into 
operation  early  in  February  (1861).  The  blockade  of  the 
Southern  ports  was  proclaimed  in  May,  but  was  not  at  all 
effective  until  the  end  of  the  following  winter,  so  that  there 
was  a  period  of  about  twelve  months  for  the  operation  of  con 
verting  four  or  five  million  bales  of  cotton  into  money." 

THIRD   YEAE   OF  THE   WAR. 

30.  President  Lincoln  had  said  :  "  My  paramount  object  is 
to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy  slavery. 
If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slaves,  I  would 
do  it ;  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it ; 

.  and  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  some,  and  leaving 
pationof  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that."  Events  con- 
the  slaves.  {ro]]ec[  ^jm?  an(j  "  desiring  that  all  men  every 
where  should  be  free,"  on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  he  issued 
his  memorable  proclamation,  by  which  the  slaves  in  all  the 
States  and  districts  at  war  with  the  national  government 
were  declared  to  be  forever  free.  Then  "  black  regiments" 
began  to  be  organized  to  fight  in  the  national  service,  though 
colored  troops  had  been  previously  employed  in  a  few  locali 
ties.  At  the  close  of  the  year  about  fifty  thousand  colored 
men  were  in  actual  service,  and  before  the  close  of  the  fol 
lowing  year  the  number  had  been  more  than  doubled. 

31.  Burnside  having,  at  his  own  request,  been  relieved  of 
Hooker's     *ne  command  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  Gen- 
campaign.    erai  Hooker,  who  had  gained  a  reputation  for  gal 
lant  conduct  in  the  "  peninsula,"  and  other  campaigns,  and 


1863  Battle  of  Gettysburg.  277 

who  was  popularly  known  by  the  title  of  "Fighting  Joe," 
was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  army,  re-enforced  and  in 
excellent  condition,  crossed  the  Kappahannock,  to  destroy 
Lee's  army  and  march  to  Bichmond.  At  Ohancellorsville, 
eleven  miles  from  Fredericksburg,  it  encountered  the  Con 
federate  force,  and  after  a  terrible  battle,  was  defeated  with 
heavy  loss  (May  2d  and  3d).1  This  was  "  the  culmination 
of  a  series  of  national  disasters  which  had  occurred  since  the 
beginning  of  the  year." 

32.  Encouraged  by  his  success,  Lee,  whose  army  number 
ed  a  hundred  thousand  men,  began  a  northward  movement, 
followed  by  Hooker.  The  minds  of  the  Northern  people 
were  greatly  alarmed,  for  a  large  and  splendid  L  , 
army  had  been  defeated,  and  seemed  to  be  power-  2d  invasion 
less  against  the  invaders.  The  two  opposing oftheNortl1- 
armies  were  now  in  Maryland,  when  Hooker  resigned  his 
command,  which  was  at  once  transferred  to  General  Meade. 
Militia  forces  were  hurried  to  the  seat  of  war,  for  the  Con 
federate  general,  it  was  reported,  had  boasted  that  he  would 
"  water  his  horses  at  the  Delaware  and  the  Hudson,  and  dic 
tate  terms  of  peace  at  Philadelphia  or  New  York. "  Pennsyl 
vania  was  again  invaded  ;  and  while  Lee  paused  at  Cham- 
bersburg,  his  advance  was  on  the  road  to  Harrisburg  ;  but  as 
Meade  was  in  pursuit,  he  turned  eastward  to  prevent  his  pro 
gress.  At  Gettysburg,  "  a  town  destined  to  enduring  cele 
brity  in  American  history,"  the  two  armies  met,  and  one  of 
the  most  terrible  battles  of  the  war  was  fought  (July  1st,  2d, 
and  3d).  Day  after  day,  Lee  advanced  his  troops  against  the 

1  The  Confederates  lost  General  Jackson,  "  who  fell  in  the  midst  of  the 
triumph  won  by  his  own  hand. "  He  was  wounded  during  the  night  of 
the  3d,  by  the  fire  of  his  own  men,  who  mistook  his  staff  and  escort  for 
the  enemy's  cavalry.  He  bore  patiently  his  great  suffering.  "  If  I  live, 
it  will  be  best,"  he  said  ;  "  and  if  I  die,  it  will  be  best.  God  knows  and 
directs  all  things  for  the  best."  He  died  on  the  10th.  "  Of  all  the  gen 
erals  in  the  Confederate  armies,  no  one  so  completely  commanded  the  de 
votion  of  his  troops.  It  was  felt  throughout  the  South  that  his  death 
more  than  counterbalanced  the  advantages,  great  as  they  were,  of  the 
victory."  (See  p.  271  and  note.) 


278  Lincoln's  Administration.  1863 

lines  of  the  Unionists  ;  but  all  in  vain,  and  at  last,  after  los 
ing  more  than  a  third  of  his  grand  army,  he  was  compelled 
to  retreat.  This  was  probably  the  most  important  and  deci 
sive  engagement  of  the  war.  "  Freedom  was  master  on  the 
continent."  1 

33.  In  November,  a  little  more  than  four  months  after,  a 
great  concourse  of  men  and  women  met  on  this  battle  field  of 
Gettysburg  to  consecrate  a  part  of  it  as  a  national  cemetery 
for  the  remains  of  the  brave  soldiers  who  had  fallen.     Lin- 

Obli  ation    C0^n    ^°°^    Par^  *n    ^ie   ceremonv-      "  When  the 
to  the      appointed  funeral  oration  was  completed,  a  low 
ea  '  murmur  ran  through  the   audience  and  the  care 
worn  President,  rising,  bent  reverently  forward,"  and  said  : 

34.  "  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty, 
and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all   men  are  created 
equal.     Now,  we  are  engaged    in  a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedi 
cated,  can  long  endure.    We  are  met  on  a  great  battle  field  of 
that  war.     We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field 
as  a  final  resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives 
that  our  nation  might  live.     It  is  fitting  that  we  should  do 
this  ;  but,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground. 
The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have 
consecrated  it  far  beyond  any  thing  we  can  do.     The  world 
will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here  ;  but 
it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.     It  is  for  us,  the  liv 
ing,  rather  to  dedicate  ourselves  to  the  unfinished  work  which 
they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced  ;  to 
consecrate  ourselves  to   the  great  task  remaining  ;    and  to 
gather   from   the  graves   of   these   honored    dead    increased 
devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  their  lives.     Here 
let  us  resolve  that  they  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  that  this 
nation  shall,  under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  ;  and 

1  The  losses  were  fearful,  23,210  national  troops  were  killed,  wounded, 
or  missing.     The  Confederate  loss  was  86,000, 


1863 


Organizations  of  Mercy. 


279 


that  government  of  the  people,  ~by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people  shall  not  perish  forever  from  the  earth." 

35.  The  efforts  put  forth  by  the  North  to  sustain  the 
Union  cause  were  not  confined  to  the  government  and  the 
arrny.  The  people  actively  showed  their  interest,  and  their 
sympathy  with  those  who  had  engaged  in  it.  organizations 
Associations  were  formed  to  relieve  the  necessi-  of  mercy. 
ties  of  the  soldiers.  Of  these,  the  Christian  and  Sanitary 


PREPARED  FOR  THE  BATTLE. 

Commissions  did  the  most  extensive  work.  "  The  Sanitary 
Commission  gathered  supporters  from  all  classes  of  the  peo 
ple — physicians,  clergymen,  lawyers,  merchants,  tradesmen, 
laborers,  and — how  was  it  possible  that  it  could  be  other 
wise? — conspicuously  among  all,  very  many  women.  The 
wealthy  man  gave  lavishly  of  his  means  ;  the  poor  man  a 


280  Lincoln's  Administration.  1863 

portion,  often  not  an  inconsiderable  portion,  of  his  earnings ; 
the  widow  brought  her  mite.  Soon  the  commission  had  an 
independent  transportation  of  its  own.  It  had  hospitals, 
wagons,  ambulances,  cars.  Ingenious  men  devised  for  it- 
inventions  of  better  litters,  better  stretchers,  better  ambu- 
ances.  It  secured  comfortable  transportation  for  the  wound 
ed  soldier  from  the  battle-field  to  the  hospital.  On  the 
railroad  it  soon  had  its  hospital  cars,  with  kitchen,  dispen 
sary,  and  a  surgeon's  car  in  the  midst. 

36.  To  the  Sanitary  Commission  the  government  gave  a 
most  earnest  support ;  the  people  gave  it  their  hearts.     They 
furnished  it   with   more  than   three  millions    of   dollars  in 
money,  of  which  one  million  came  from  the  Pacific  States  ; 
they  sent  it  nine  millions'  worth  of  supplies.    From  fairs  held 
in  its  interest  very  large  sums  were  derived.     What  country, 
what  age  of  the  world  can  show  such  a  splendid  example  of 
*  organized  mercy?'1     The  Christian  Commission,  emulating 
the  noble  conduct  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  aided  the  sur 
geon,  helped   the    chaplain,   followed   the    armies   in   their 
marches,  went  into  the  trenches  and  along  the  picket-line. 
Wherever  there  was  a  sick,  a  wounded,  a  dying  man,   an 
agent  of  the  Commission  was  near  by.     It  gave  Christian 
burial  whenever  possible  ;  it  marked  the  graves  of  the  dead. 
It  distributed  nearly  five  millions  of  dollars  in  money  and 
supplies." 

37.  We  turn  to  the  West  once  more.     Farragut's  capture 
of  New  Orleans  opened  the  lower  part  of  the  Mississippi : 
and  the  victory  of  Shiloh,  with  its  consequences,  resulted  in 

opening  all  the  rest  that  had  been  previously  held 
Mississippi  by  the  Confederates,  except  the  portion  between 
opened,     yickskurg  and  Port  Hudson.     It  was  Grant's  ob 
ject  to  complete  the  opening  of  the  river  throughout  its  en- 

1  "  The  Sanitary  Commission  was  a  genuine  expression  of  the  spirit  01 
the  people.  It  was  to  America  in  this  century  what  the  orders  of  chival 
ry  were  to  Europe  in  their  day. "—  Carlyle.  '"  To  the  end  of  time  it  will 
stand  in  history  as  a  worthy  monument  of  the  patriotism,  the  humanity, 
and  the  religion  of  a  Christian  democracy," — North  American  Review 


1863  Draft  Riot  in  New   YorTc.  281 

tire  length.  His  first  point  of  attack  was  Vicksburg,  which 
had  been  so  strongly  fortified  that  it  was  considered  impreg 
nable.  It  was  held  by  a  powerful  army  under  General  Pem- 
berton. 

38.  By  a  series  of  skillful  movements,  Grant  seized  a  posi 
tion  suitable  for  operations.   '  A  number  of  battles  took  place, 
every  day  Grant's  hold  on  Vicksburg  becoming  more  secure. 
At  last,  "  on  the  3d  of  July,   Pemberton  saw  that  he  was 
ready  to  make  a  final  and  fatal  assault.     That  afternoon  he 
wrote  to  his  besieger  asking  an  armistice.     To  this  Grant 
promptly  replied,   and  an  interview  consequently  took  place 
between  the  two  commanders  beneath  an  old  oak  tree.     Pem 
berton  was  irritable  and    indiscreet.      Great  and  merciful, 
the  conqueror  bore,  without  an  unkind  remark,  the  petulance 
of  his  vanquished   adversary,  and  returned  him  no  railing 
reply."     The  next  morning,  July  4th,  1863,  Vicksburg  was 
surrendered. 

39.  "  While  Grant  had  been  besieging  Vicksburg,  Banks 
had  been  besieging  Port  Hudson  ;   and  so  closely  had  the 
operations  been  pressed  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  place 
to  hold  out  much  longer.     When,  on  the  6th  of  July,  news 
came  that  Vicksburg  had  surrendered,  it  was  needless  and 
hopeless  to  continue  the  defense  any  longer."     Port  Hudson 
was  accordingly  surrendered  on  the  9th.     "  Thus  the  West 
ern  armies  had  accomplished  their  object,  and  the  Mississippi 
was  now  open  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     The  Confederacy  was 
cut  asunder  ;  its  right  zone  was  isolated." 

40.  An  act  of  Congress  empowered  President  Lincoln  to 
recruit   the  army  by  drafting.     As  a  call  for  three  hundred 
thousand  troops  under  this  law  was  not  fully  responded  to,  a 
less  number  volunteering,  it  was  found  requisite       D 

to  resort  to  a  draft.     This  excited  great  opposi-      riot  in 
tion  ;  and,  in  New  York,  a  riot  broke  out  while  New  Yorkt 
the  draft  was  in  progress,  which  lasted  four  days  (July  13- 
16),  and  was  only  put  down  by  the  most  determined  efforts 
of  the  police  and  the  military.     Buildings  were  sacked  and 


282  Lincoln's  Administration.  1863 

burned,  and  a  large  number  of  persons  killed.  The  colored 
population  of  the  city,  being  an  object  of  particular  hatred 
to  the  rioters,  suffered  severely. 

41.  As  before  stated,  Eosecrans  gained  an  important  vic 
tory  over  Bragg,  at  Murfreesboro.     After  a  half  year's  inac 
tivity,  Kosecrans  again  advanced  against  Bragg,  compelling 

The  war     ^m  to  evacuate  Chattanooga.     Meanwhile,  Lee, 
in  Tennessee  having  reached  a  secure  position  on  the  Rapidan, 
and  Georgia.  «n  yjrgjn]'a^  hurried   re-enforcements  to   Bragg, 
who,  enjoined  by  the  Richmond  government,  then  turned  upon 
his  pursuers.     The  two  armies  met  near  Chickamauga  creek, 
and  a  battle  of  two  days  ensued,  the  result  of  which  was  that 
the  Federal  army  was  partially  routed.     "On  Thomas,  who, 
in  allusion  to  the  events  of  the  struggle,  is  often  justly  called 
*  The  Rock  of  Chickamauga,'  the  weight  of  the  battle  now 
fell.     Every  thing    depended   on  his 
firmness.     If  he,  too,  should  be  swept 
away,  there  was  nothing  but  a  flight 
across   the   Tennessee.     In    this    su 
preme  moment  Thomas  proved  equal 
to  his  task.     Though  more  than  half 
the  army  had  abandoned   him,  with 
inflexible     resolution     he     held     his 
ground.     One  after  another  the  Con 
federate  regiments  surged  up  against 

GENERAL   THOMAS.  nil  ,    i    •      I      ,    vi        i   -11 

him,  and  broke  at  his  feet  like  billows 

of  the  sea.  It  was  about  sunset  when  they  made  their  last 
charge.  It  was  repelled,  and  they  gave  way  to  return  no 
more  (Sept.  19,  20)." 

42.  The  Union  forces,  driven  behind  the  intrenchments 
of  Chattanooga,  with  the  Confederates  holding  the  surround 
ing   hills — Lookout   mountain  and   Missionary   ridge — their 
position  was  critical  indeed.     They  were  also  in  danger  of 
starvation  ;    and  "  the  mud  was  so  deep,"  wrote  one  of  the 
soldiers,  "  that  we  could  not  travel  by  the  road,  but  we  got 
along  prettv  well  by  stepping  from  mule  to  mule  as  they  lay 


1863  West  Virginia  and  Nevada.  283 

dead  from  starvation  by  the  way. "  Still  Thomas  telegraphed  : 
"  I  will  hold  fast  till  we  starve."  It  was  evident  that  some 
thing  must  be  done  at  once  and  quickly.  Re-enforcements 
under  Hooker  were  therefore  rushed  by  rail  to  the  aid  of  the 
troops,  and  Grant  was  ordered  to  take  the  command.  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  who  had  distinguished  himself  under  Grant  at 
the  West,  was  also  called  to  Chattanooga. 

43.  On  the  morning  after  his  arrival  Grant  decided  upon 
a  plan  of  action.     Accordingly,  while  Sherman  began  the 
attack  in  the  valley,  Hooker  and  Thomas  advanced  to  drive 
the  Confederates  from  the  mountains.     "  All  day  long  there 
had  been  a  misty  rain.    The  clouds  which  had  hovered  over 
Lookout   mountain   during   the   morning,  gradually  settled 
into  the  valley  ;  and  it  was  only  from  the  roar  of  the  battle, 
and  the  occasional  glimpse  that  the  troops  in  the  valley  could 
catch  of  the  lines  and  standards  that  they  knew  of  the  strife 
and  its  progress.     It  was  a  battle  above  the  clouds."     All 
the  strong  positions  of   the   Confederates  were  taken,  and 
Bragg' s  army  was  completely  routed  (Nov.  23-25). 1 

44.  The  people  in  the  western  counties  of  Virginia  were, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  entirely  opposed  to  secession. 
They  not  only  refused  to  obey  the  secession  ordinance  passed 
by  their  legislature,  but  they  took  early  measures       Wegt 

to  effect  a  separation  from  the  old  State,  and  ob-     Virginia 
tain  admission  as  a  State  into  the  Union.     Their  andNevada- 
efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  the  State  being  admitted 
in  1863,   under  the  name  of  West  Virginia.     Nevada,   the 
thirty-sixth  member  of  the  Union,  was  admitted  the  next  year. 
This   was  originally  a  part  of  the  territory  acquired  from 
Mexico  by  the  treaty  of  1848.     Its  mineral  wealth  led  to  its 

1  General  Longstreet,  who  had  been  sent  by  Bragg  against  Knoxville, 
was  repulsed  by  Burnside.  In  Missouri  and  Kansas,  guerrilla  bands,  co 
operating  with  the  regular  Confederate  forces,  carried  on  the  work  of 
plunder  and  destruction.  A  bold  raid  was  made  into  Indiana  and  Ohio 
by  the  partisan  ranger  Morgan  ;  but  he  was  pursued  day  and  night  for  a 
distance  of  nearly  seven  hundred  miles,  and  his  band  were  killed,  cap 
tured,  or  scattered.  Morgan  himself  was  taken  prisoner. 


284  Lincoln^  s  Administration.  1864 

rapid  settlement  and  increase  in  population.  It  was  named 
from  the  mountain  range  on  its  west,  called  the  Sierra 
Nevada. 

FOURTH   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

45.  Early  in  the  year  (1864),  Sherman  marched  from 
Vicksburg  across  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  destroyed  the 
railroad  system  centering  at  Meridian.  On  his  return  march, 

Bed  river  crowds  of  fugitive  slaves — from  four  to  seven 
expedition,  thousand  in  number — flocked  to  his  army  to  make 
their  escape.  "  They  varied  in  age  from  one  month  to  one 
hundred  years.  Some  were  on  foot,  some  on  horseback, 
some  in  ox-carts.  Some  were  clad  in  their  '  Sunday  best/ 
the  cast-off  clothes  of  their  masters.  Of  the  women,  some 
had  bandana  handkerchiefs  twisted  in  turban  fashion  round 
their  heads,  or  were  decorated  with  scraps  of  ribbon  and 
fantastic  finery  of  every  conceivable  hue.  Theae  simple  peo 
ple  believed  that  '  the  day  of  Jubilee,'  of  which  they  had  so 
often  sung  in  their  hymns  and  begged  for  in  their  prayers, 
had  come  at  last."  Sherman's  troops  were  hurried  to  the  aid 
of  Banks,  who,  with  the  co-operation  of  Porter's  fleet,  was 
preparing  to  conduct  an  expedition  against  Shreveport,  on 
the  Red  river.1  This,  however,  met  with  a  series  of  disasters, 
which  caused  its  entire  failure.  The  vessels,  in  consequence 
of  a  fall  in  the  river,  were  saved  from  capture  and  destruc 
tion  only  by  the  construction  of  a  dam  a  mile  long  across  the 
stream,  by  means  of  which  the  boats  were  enabled  to  go  over 
the  falls.  The  loss  of  men  and  material  in  this  expedition 
was  very  great  (March  and  April).2 

1  In  February  the  Union  forces  sustained  a  disastrous  defeat  at  Olus- 
tee,  Florida.  The  absence  of  troops  to  aid  Banks  in  the  Red  river  expe 
dition,  induced  the  Confederates,  under  General  Forrest,  to  make  a  raid 
into  Tennesse  and  Kentucky.  Union  City  was  captured.  An  attack 
upon  Fort  Pillow  (April  12th),  was  bravely  resisted  ;  but,  at  last,  the 
place  was  carried  by  assault,  and  three  hundred  of  its  defenders,  mostly 
colored  troops,  were  massacred. 

3  Sherman,  himself,  took  no  part  in  the  Bed  river  expedition. 


1864  Sherman's  Campaign.  285 

46.  All  eyes  were  now  turned  to  Grant,  as  the  best  and 
most  successful  of  the  Union  generals  ;  and  the  President 
conferred  on  him  the  command  of  all  the  forces  of  the  United 
States,    under    the  title    of  Lieutenant-G-eneral.1    Final  plan 
This  appointment  produced  several  changes  in  the  of  operations, 
army.     Sherman  succeeded  Grant  in  the  command  at  Chat 
tanooga  ;  but  Meade,  under  Grant,  retained  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.     Both  these  armies  were  to  act  in 
concert,   the  one  against   Atlanta,2  the  other  against   Rich 
mond.     "  Every  thing  unimportant  was  to  be  abandoned, 
and  the  two  centers  of  power — the  army  of  Lee  in  Virginia 
and  that  of  Johnston  in  Georgia — were  to  be  assailed  at  the 
same  time,  and  assailed  incessantly,    regardless  of  the  sea 
sons." 

47.  "  On  the  4th  of  May,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  crossed 
the  Rapidan,  and  Grant,  sitting  on  a  felled  tree,  telegraphed 
to  Sherman  to  advance."     Sherman's  progress  was  disputed, 
but  in  vain.     He  won    battles,     outflanked    his    Sherman's 
opponent,    drove    him   from   one    position   after   campaign, 
another,  till,  in  July,  he  had  nearly  reached  Atlanta.      The 
Confederate  government,  becoming  dissatisfied   with,    what 
was  called,  "Johnston's  retreating  policy,"  because  he  had 
"failed  to  arrest  the  advance  of  the  enemy,"  put  General 
Hood  in  command.     This  general,  however,  met  with  still 
greater  disaster.     His  furious  assaults  upon  the  Union  army 
were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  ;  and,  at  last,  when  Sherman 
began  to  surround  Atlanta,  and  had  again  defeated  a  large 
division  of  his  army,  he  abandoned  the  city.     "Atlanta  is 

1  An  act  of  Congress  was  passed  in  February,  1864,  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  a  Lieutenaut-General  to  command  all  the  armies  of  the 
Union,  an  honor  which  had  never  previously  been  conferred  on  any 
other  than  Washington.  Scott  being  only  such  by  brevet.  President  Lin 
coln  immediately  nominated  General  G'rant  for  the  office,  and  the  nomi 
nation  was  confirmed  on  the  3d  of  March. 

a  Atlanta  was  a  great  railroad  center,  and  had  immense  magazines, 
workshops,  and  stores,  all  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  Confederate 
government.  Hence  this  city  became  one  of  the  chief  objective  points  of 
the  war  at  this  time. 


286 


Lincoln's  Administration. 


1864 


GENERAL   SHERMAN. 


ours,  and  fairly  won,"  telegraphed  Sherman  to  Washington, 
and  Lincoln  wrote  him  a  letter  of  thanks  (Sept.  2). 

48.  Finding  that  Hood  had    gone  northward,    with   the 
design  of  destroying  the  com 
munications  of  the  Union  army, 

instead  of  pursuing  him,  Sher 
man  sent  Thomas  to  defend 

Tennessee,    while    he,    himself, 

resolved     to     march     through 

Georgia  to  the  coast.  At  Nash- 
Battleof  viUe>  Hood  was  de- 
Nashville,  feated  by  Thomas  in 

a   terrific    battle    of    two    days 

(Dec.  15,  16).  The  Confeder 
ate  army  was  pursued  day  and 

night,    and     annihilated.       Of 

Thomas  it  has  been  said  :   "He 

never    lost    a  battle.      He   was 

believed  to  be  very  slow,  but  in  Hood's  army  it  was  felt  that 

he  was  fearfully  sure." 

49.  Breaking  away  entirely  from  his  northern  communica 
tions,  Sherman   commenced   (Nov.    15)  his    ever  memorable 
march  to  the  sea-coast.   Passing  through  Georgia,  and  living  up- 

Sherman's  on  ^ne  coun^ry  as  ne  advanced,  "  which  abounded 
march  to  in  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  and  meats,"  he  successively 
the  sea.  OCCUpie(j  the  State  capital  and  other  large  towns. 
"  In  a  continuous  line  the  army  would  have  stretched  over 
fifty  miles,  the  wagon-train  would  have  I'eached  over  thirty 
miles.  At  every  halt  the  adjacent  fields  were  covered  with 
the  horses,  mules,  and  cattle.  Nothing  could  be  more  pictu 
resque  than  the  bivouac  in  the  majestic  pine  forests  through 
which  the  march  lay.  Groups  of  soldiers  flitting  past  the  red, 
glaring  watch-fires  ;  some  busy  preparing  supper  ;  some  danc 
ing,  singing,  talking  ;  and  there  was  the  low  murmur  of  the 
vast  host  ;  the  moaning  of  the  wind  as  it  swept  through  the 
tops  of  the  trees  ;  the  neighing  of  horses,  and  the  rustling 


1864  Grant's  Campaign  in  Virginia.  287 

step  of  the  picket-guard  pacing  his  round,  and  outwatching 
the  clear,  cold  night."  Fort  McAllister1  was  reached,  and 
carried  by  assault,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  De 
cember,  Sherman  entered  Savannah.  In  announcing  his 
triumph  to  President  Lincoln,  he  said  :  "  I  beg  to  present 
you  a  Christmas  gift,  the  city  of  Savannah,  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  guns  and  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  also  about 
twenty-five  thousand  bales  of  cotton."  Halleck,  rejoicing 
in  Sherman's  success,  pronounced  his  march  as  "  the  greatest 
one  of  this  great  war."  Grant  congratulated  Sherman  on 
"  the  successful  termination  of  this  most  brilliant  campaign." 
50.  The  campaign  in  Virginia  was  planned  by  Grant  and 
conducted  by  him  in  person,  Meade  being  second  in  com 
mand.  On  the  4th  of  May,  when  he  telegraphed' to  Sherman 
to  advance,  his  own  army  was  crossing  the  Grant,s 
Eapidan.  On  the  following  day  he  encountered  campaign 
Lee  in  a  terrific  contest,  known  as  the  battle  of  m  irSima* 
the  Wilderness,  which  raged  for  two  days,  night  putting  an 
end  to  the  struggle.  "  The  dead  lay  thickly  strewn  among 
the  trees— the  Wilderness  was  throbbing  with  the  wounded." 
Grant,  determining  to  put  his  whole  force  between  Lee  and 
Richmond,  with  his  large  army  was  enabled  to  outflank  the 
Confederates,  who  retreated  and  took  a  position  at  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  where  another  destructive  battle  was 
fought.  "  Thwarted  there,  Grant  repeated  the  attempt  at 
the  North  Anna ;  thwarted  there  again,  with  inflexible 
determination  he  delivered  an  assault  at  Cold  Harbor.  '  I 
propose  to  fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer/  he 
informed  the  Secretary  of  War."  In  this  series  of  battles  the 
Union  loss  was,  probably,  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  men. 

1  In  five  weeks,  the  army  marched  more  than  three  hundred  miles. 
During  this  time,  Sherman  and  his  troops  were  unheard  of  at  the  North, 
and  great  anxiety  was  felt  on  their  account.  The  first  news  of  the  suc 
cess  and  safety  of  Sherman's  arm)''  was  brought  by  scouts  who  left  it  as 
it  was  approaching  Savannah.  Hiding  in  the  rice  swamps  by  day,  and 
paddling  down  the  river  at  night,  they  succeeded  in  passing  Fort  Mc 
Allister,  near  Savannah,  and  were  picked  up  by  the  Union  gunboats. 


288  Lincoln's  Administration.  1864 

51.  Butler,  co-operating  with  Grant,  sailed  from  Fortress 
Monroe,  but  was  compelled  to  intrench  himself  on  the  south 
side  of  the  James.    About  the  middle  of  June,  Grant  eifected 
a  change  of  base  by  transferring  his  army  to  that  side  of  the 
river,  where  his  troops  were  confronted  by  the  strong  fortifi 
cations  of  Petersburg,  which,  in  spite  of  every  effort  of  the 
Union  general,  were  held  by  the  Confederates  till  the  follow 
ing  spring. 

52.  In  the  meantime,  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  had  been 
the  scene  of  almost  constant  warfare.    It  was  a  part  of  Grant's 
plan  that  a  movement,  in  co-operation  with  his  own,  should 

The        be  made  up  the  river,  but  it  failed.     Hunter  was 
Shenandoah  then  put  in  command.     The  latter   met  with  a 
ey<      success  at  Piedmont,  but,  fearing  pursuit  by  a  su 
perior  force,  retreated  across  the  mountains  into  West   Vir 
ginia.      The  valley  being   thus   open,  Lee,    secure   for   the 
time  being  behind   his    intrenchrnents    at  Petersburg    and 
Richmond,  detached  twenty  thousand   men  under  General 
Early,  to  make  an  attempt  to  capture  Washington. 

53.  Early  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland,  and,  at  the 
Mo-noc'-a-cy  river,  with  his  overwhelming  numbers,  defeated 
a  Union  force  from  Baltimore.     A  part  of  his  army  advanced 
into  Pennsylvania  and  set  fire  to  Chambersburg,  but  being 
overtaken  and  defeated,  escaped  to  the  mountains.     Grant 

hurried  off  troops  for  the  defense  of 
Washington,  and  Hunter  desiring  to 
be  relieved,  the  command  was  given 
to  General  Sheridan.  Sheridan  at 
tacked  and  routed  Early  at  Winches 
ter  (Sept.  19th),  and,  three  days 
after,  met  and  routed  him  again. 
"In  a  week  he  had  destroyed  or 
captured  half  of  Early's  army,  and 
MAJOR-GENERM,  SHERIDAN.  Driven  the  rest  southward. "  The 
next  month,  during  the  absence  of  Sheridan,  his  army  was 
suddenly  attacked  at  Cedar  Creek,  and  driven  in  disorder 


1864  Achievements  of  the  Navy.  289 

from  its  position.  While  the  Confederates  were  plundering 
the  captured  camps,  Sheridan,  who  had  heard  the  firing, 
came  up  at  full  speed.  He  at  once  rallied  his  men,  formed 
them  in  line,  charged  the  Confederates,  and,  for  the  third 
time,  utterly  routed  them.  Early's  army  was  destroyed,  and 
the  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  valley  was  ended. 

54.  The  Confederates,  by  means  of  English-built  privateers 
sailing  under  the  Confederate  flag,  succeeded  in  destroying  a 
large  number  of  American  merchantmen.     Semmes,  in  the 
Alabama,  by  far  the   most  important  ship  built  Achievements 
for  the  Confederates,  resumed  his  career  of  de-  of  the  navy, 
struction,   luring  his  prey  by  hoisting  the  British  flag,  and 
then  burning  or  bonding  his  victim.     In  June  he  entered  the 
harbor   of   Cherbourg  (sher'-boorg),   France,    where  he   was 
found  by  Captain  Winslow  of  the  national  ship  of  war  Kear- 
sarge    (keer'-sarj).       Off  that  harbor  an  action  took  place 
between  the  two  ships,  resulting  in  the  sinking  of  the  Ala 
bama.     Semmes  and  forty  of  his  crew  were  taken  out  of  the 
water  by  a  British  yacht,  which,  instead  of  delivering  up  the 
rescued  men  to  the  Kearsarge,  steamed  off  to  the  English 
coast  and  there  landed  them. 

55.  Of  all  the  achievements  of  the  navy  of  the  United 
States   during  the   war,   not   one   was 

more  brilliant  than  that  of  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  in  Mobile  bay,  which  place  was 
well  defended  by  forts,  gun-boats,  and 
an  iron-clad  ram  (resembling  the  cele 
brated  Merrimac)  called  the  Tennessee. 
The  attacking  fleet  of  monitors  and 
wooden  vessels  moved  up  the  bay,  Far- 
ragut  being  on  board  his  flag-ship, 
the  Hartford,  lashed  at  the  main-top  to 
the  rigging,  the  better  to  observe  oper 
ations  and  give  orders.  He  succeeded  MAB-ADMIBA*  FABBAGUT. 
in  passing  the  forts  and  dispersing  the  gun-boats,  when  the 
encounter  with  4he  ram  took  place  ;  but,  sorely  beset  by  the 


290  Lincoln's  Administration.  1865 

fleet,  badly  crippled,  and  her  commander  severely  wounded, 
the  Tennessee  was  compelled  to  strike  her  colors  (Aug.  5). 

56.  The  twentieth  national  election  took  place  in  the  fall 
of  this  year.     The  Republicans  had  again  nominated  Lin 
coln.     His  opponent,  the   Democratic  nominee,  was  General 
Ee-election  McClellan-     Tne  seceded  States,   of  course,  took 
of  President  no  part  in  the  contest.     Lincoln  was  chosen  by  a 
)ln<     very   large   majority,    and    Andrew  Johnson,   of 
Tennessee,  was  elected  vice-president.     Nevada's  first  presi 
dential  vote  was  given  at  this  election. 


CLOSE    OF   THE    WAR. 

57.  Sherman,  having  halted  at  Savannah  only  long  enough 
to  refit  his  army,  commenced  a  march,  in  the  depth  of 
winter,  through  the  Carolinas,  to  join  Grant,  who  was  con- 
Sherman's  frontin£  Lee  near  Richmond.  "  The  army  that 

campaign    was  coming  was  not  like  those  which  in  the  earlier 

>f  1865i  days  of  the  war  waited  for  the  roads  to  dry,  for 
the  weather  .to  become  cooler  and  then  to  become  warmer." 
Like  a  tornado  it  passed  on.  "A  black  smoke,  rising  to  the 
skies,  marked  its  track."  Columbia  was  captured.  Charles 
ton,  in  consequence,  also  fell  ; l  and  once  more  the  national 
flag  was  raised  over  Fort  Sumter,  now  a  pile  of  ruins.  On 
ward  Sherman  pressed,  passing  into  North  Carolina,  where 
he  encountered  and  defeated  a  large  Confederate  army,  com 
manded  by  Johnston.  The  end  was  near. 

58.  It  became  apparent  to  Lee  that  he  must  either  evacuate 
Richmond  and  Petersburg,  or  be  captured.     He  then  began 
to  form  a  plan  by  which  he  might  retreat  into  North  Caro 
lina,  and  there  join  Johnston.     Anticipating  this,  Grant  is- 

1  Fort  Fisher,  the  main  defense  of  Wilmington,  was  captured  after  a 
desperate  resistance,  by  a  land  force  commanded  by  General  Terry,  aided 
by  Porter's  "fleet  (Jan.  15).  A  month  later,  General  Schofield,  co-ope 
rating  with 'the  fleet,  reduced  Wilmington.  This  was  a  severe  loss  to 
the  Confederacy  (Feb.  22).  Schofield  then  acted  under  orders  from 
Sherman, 


1865  Evacuation  of  Richmond.  291 

sued  instructions  for  a  general  movement  against  Richmond, 
and,  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  March  29th,  The  final 
it  began.  Sheridan's  advance  led  to  the  battle  campaign, 
of  Five  Forks  and  to  a  decisive  victory  for  Sheridan  (April 
1).  The  next  morning,  at  daybreak,  a  general  assault  upon 
the  Confederate  lines  was  made,  and  before  noon  the  entire 
exterior  defenses  were  captured.  "  In  Richmond,  for  it  was 
Sunday,  the  people  had  assembled  in  the  churches,  knowing 
little  of  what  was  going  on  twenty  miles  distant  at  the  front. 
Davis  had  repaired  to  his  customary  place  of  worship.  There 
came  up  the  aisle  a  messenger,  who  handed  him  a  dispatch 
from  Lee,  which  contained  intelligence  of  the  most  momen 
tous  event  of  the  war.  The  news  quickly  passed  from  lip  to 
lip,  from  church  to  church."1 

59.  "  Men,  women,  and  children  rushed  from  the  churches. 
Wagons  on  the  streets  were  soon  hastily  loaded  at  the  depart 
ments  with  boxes,  trunks,  etc.,  and  driven  to  the  Danville 
depot.  Those  who  had  determined  to  leave  with  Evacuation 
the  fugitive  government  looked  on  with  amaze-  of  Richmond, 
ment ;  then,  convinced  of  the  fact,  rushed  to  follow  the  ex 
ample.  Vehicles  suddenly  rose  to  a  premium  value  that  was 
astounding  ;  and  ten,  fifteen,  and  even  a  hundred  dollars,  in 
gold  or  Federal  currency,  was  offered  for  a  conveyance.  Sud 
denly,  as  if  by  magic,  the  streets  became  filled  with  men,  walk 
ing  as  though  for  a  wager,  and  behind  them  excited  negroes 
with  trunks,  bundles,  and  luggage  of  every  description.  All 
over  the  city  it  was  the  same — wagons,  trunks,  bandboxes, 
and  their  owners,  a  mass  of  hurrying  fugitives,  filling  the 
streets.  The  banks  were  all  open,  and  depositors  were  as  busy 
as  bees  removing  their  specie  deposits  ;  and  the  directors 
were  equally  active  in  getting  off  their  bullion.  Hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  of  paper  money  were  destroyed. 

1  Jefferson  Davis  fled  southward  on  the  abandonment  of  Richmond  ; 
but  soon  a  party  of  cavalry  started  on  his  track.  They  followed  him 
through  the  Carolinas  into  Georgia, where  they  suddenly  came  upon  his 
hiding  place  ;  and,  notwithstanding  an  attempt  to  escape,  he  was  dis 
covered  and  seized.  He  was  conveyed  a  prisoner  to  Fortress  Monroe, 
where  he  was  kept  in  confinement  until  1867,  when  he  was  released. 


292  Lincoln's  Administration.  1865 

60.  Night  came,  and  with  it  came  confusion  worse  con 
founded.     There  was  no  sleep  for  human  eyes  in  Richmond 
that  night.     The  City  Council  had  met  in  the  evening,  and 
resolved  to  destroy  all  the  liquor  in  the  city,  to  avoid  the  dis 
order  consequent  on  the  temptation  to  drink  at  such  a  time. 
About  the  hour  of  midnight  the  work  commenced.     Hun 
dreds  of  barrels  of  liquor  were  rolled  into  the  street.     The 
gutters  ran  with  a  liquor-freshet,  and  the  fumes  filled  and 
impregnated    the   air.     Fine   cases   of  bottled   liquors  were 
tossed  into  the  street  from  third-story  windows,  and  wrecked 
into  a  thousand  pieces.     As  the  work  progressed,  some  strag 
gling  soldiers  retreating  through  the  city,  managed  to  get 
hold  of  a  quantity  of  the  liquor.     From  that  moment,,  law 
and  order  ceased  to  exist.     The  air  was  filled  with  wild  cries 
of  distress,  or  the  yells  of  roving  pillagers. 

61.  But  a  more  terrible  element  was  to  appear  upon  the 
scene.    An  order  had  been  issued  from  General  E well's  head 
quarters,  to  fire  the  four  principal  tobacco  warehouses  of  the 
city.     Mayor  Mayo  dispatched  a  remonstrance  against  this 
order,  which  plainly  put  in  jeopardy  the  whole  business  por 
tion  of  Richmond.     It  was  not  heeded.     Nothing  was,  there 
fore,  left  for  the  citizens  but  to  submit  to  the  destruction 
of  their  property.     The  warehouses  were  fired.     The  rams  on 
the  James  river  were  blown  up.     The  bridges  leading  out  of 
the  city  were  also  fired,  and  were  soon  wrapped  in  flames. 

62.  Morning  broke  upo  n  a  scene  such  as  those  who  wit 
nessed  it  can  never  forget.     The  roar  of  an  immense  confla 
gration  sounded  in  their  ears  ;  tongues  of  flame  leaped  from 
street  to  street  ;  and  in  this  baleful  glare  were  to  be  seen,  as 
of  demons,  the  figures  of  busy  plunderers,  moving,  pushing, 
rioting,  through  the  black  smoke,  and  into  the  open  street, 
bearing  away  every  conceivable  sort  of  plunder."     "  The  sun 
was  an  hour  or  more  above  the  horizon,  when  suddenly  there 
ran  up  the  whole  length  of  Main  street  the  cry  of  '  Yankees  ! ' 
'  Yankees  ! '  "     The  Union  soldiers  were  indeed  entering  the 
city,  and  Petersburg  was  also  in  possession  of  the  national 
forces.     Over  both  cities  the  stars  and  stripes  again  floated. 


(£65  Assassination  of  Lincoln.  293 

63.  Lee  retreated  to  the  southwest,  hoping  to  be  able  to 
join  Johnston  in  North  Carolina  ;  but  his  troops  were  hotly 
pursued.     "  There  was  no  rest  for  them  either  by  night  or 
by  day.     If  they  attempted  to  snatch  a  few  mo-    Surrender 
ments'  sleep,  they  were  roused  by  the  hoof -clatter    of  Lee  and 
of  Sheridan's  cavalry. "     At  last,  overtaken,  and    Jolmston- 
seeing  no  hope  of    escape,  Lee  agreed  to  surrender.     In  tli3 
largest  building  of  Appomattox  Court  House,  which  boasted 
of  only  five  dwellings,  he  and  Grant  met.    "  Lee  stood  beside 
a  table,  wearing  a  bright  bluish-gray  uniform,  a  military  hat 
with  a  gold  cord,  buckskin  gauntlets,  high  riding-boots,  and 
a  beautiful  sword.     Grant  with  his  slouched  hat,  dark  blue 
frock-coat  covered  with  mud,  pantaloons  tucked  in  his  soiled 
boots — wore  no  sword.     They  shook  hands,  sat  down,"  and 
soon  agreed  to  the  terms  of  surrender  (April  9).1     The  sur 
render  of  Johnston  soon  followed,  and  the  Great  Civil  War 
was  at  an  end. 

64.  The  North  had  triumphed,  and  on  every  side  were  joy 
and  gladness.     Flags    waved,   bells  rang,   guns    were  fired, 
houses  were  illuminated  ;  but  this  great  joy  was  soon  and 
suddenly  turned  into  mourning.     Just  forty  days  Assassination 
after  President  Lincoln  had  entered  on  his  second    of  Lincoln, 
term,  but  less  than  a  week  after  Lee's   surrender,   he  was 
assassinated2  in  a  theater  at  Washington  by  a  person  named 

1  *  On  this  occasion  Grant  exhibited  the  greatest  magnanimity.     He 
declined  to  receive  the  sword  of  Lee,  and  in  his  capitulation  paroled  him 
and  the  less  than  eight   thousand   Confederates  who  then  and  there 
grounded  their  arms." — Alex.  H.  Stephens. 

2  As  the  President  sat  in  his  box  in  Ford's  theater,  with  his  wife  and 
friends,  the  assassin  stealthily  approached,  entered  the  box,  and  shot  his 
victim  in  the  back  of  the  head.     Then  leaping  to  the  stage,  he  waved  his 
pistol,  and  shouted,    '  Sic  semper  tyrannis  !"  (the  motto  of  Virginia— &? 
be  it  to  tyrants),  and  rushed  away.     In  jumping,  however,  his  spur  had 
caught  in  the  American  flag  which  draped  the.  box,  and  he  fell,  injuring 
his  leg  severely.     He  nevertheless  succeeded  in  making  his  escape,  and 
tied  into  Maryland,  where  he  was  tracked  to  his  hiding-place,  and  refus 
ing  to  surrender,  was  shot  by  one  of  the  soldiers.     Another  assassin, 
with  similar  feelings  of  revenge,  on  the  same  evening  broke  into  the 
chamber  of  Wm.  H.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  was  lying  sick, 
and  made  an  almost  fatal  attack  upon  his  life. 


294  Lincoln^  s  Administration.  1865 


Booth,  who,  sympathizing  with  the  Confederate  cause,  had 
become  frenzied  by  its  failure,  and  fancied  that  in  killing 
the  President  he  was  avenging  the  wrongs  of  the  South. 
The  dying  President  lingered  till  morning  in  entire  uncon 
sciousness,  and  then  passed  away  (April  15).  The  grief  of 
the  American  people  was  deep  and  bitter.  "  Never  was  a 
public  man  more  sincerely  lamented." 

65.  Probably  no  other  war   in  the  history  of  the  woi-ld 
called  forth  such  mighty  efforts  as  were  made  by  both  parties 
in  this,  the  great  "  American  Conflict ;"  nor  was  any  similar 

Cost  of  struggle  ever  waged  on  so  grand  a  scale,  or  with 
the  war.  so  vast  a  destruction  of  men  and  material,  espe 
cially  in  proportion  to  the  time  of  its  duration — about  four 
years.  On  the  side  of  the  National  government  nearly  two 
million  seven  hundred  thousand  men  were  enlisted  during 
the  war,  of  whom  at  least  one  million  and  a  half  were  actu 
ally  and  effectively  engaged  in  the  service.  The  Confederates, 
it  is  stated,  could  enlist  only  about  six  hundred  thousand 
men.  Of  this  number  "  one  third  were  either  killed  out 
right  upon  the  field  or  died  of  disease  and  wounds."  The 
total  losses,  both  sides  included,  probably  amounted  to  about 
six  hundred  thousand  men ;  and,  with  the  wounded  and  dis 
abled,  did  not  fall  far  short  of  a  million. 

66.  The  national  debt,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  amounted 
to  about  twenty-seven  hundred  millions  of  dollars.     "  To  it, 
should    be    added,  the    sums    expended   by   the    individual 
states  and  local  bodies.     The  total  rises  above  four  thousand 
millions  of  dollars."     To  raise  the  enormous  sums  for  the 
support  of  the  great  armies  and  fleets,  and  for  other  purposes 
in  carrying  on  the  war,  the  Federal  government  had  asked 
for  loans,  which  were  freely  granted  ;  taxes  were  imposed  on 
incomes  and  manufactures  ;    and   revenue    stamps  were  re 
quired   for    bonds,    deeds,    receipts,  etc.     The    Confederate 
debt,  which  must  have  amounted  to  a  vast  sum,  was  never 
paid. 

67.  "  In  a  land  where  every  man  is  free  to  think  and  free 


1865  Funeral  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  295 

to  act  as  he  likes — where,  one  might  suppose,  there  would  of 
necessity,  be  a  Babel  hubbub  of  confusion,  and  society  only 
a  rope  of  sand,  the  shot  of  a  gun  at  their  flag  Miracles 
brought  half  a  million  of  riflemen  into  the  field,  of  the  war. 
The  waste  of  battle  and  of  the  hospitals  was  for  years  more  than 
supplied.  With  admirable  energy,  an  iron-clad  navy,  that 
could  match  the  navies  of  the  world,  was  sent  to  sea.  Never 
was  there  such  an  exhibition  of  public  resolution  and  of  pri 
vate  charity.  If  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  melted 
away  before  cannon  and  by  fever,  there  was  another  army  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  put  into  its  place.  The 
wars  of  Europe,  even  those  of  the  French  Empire,  were  out 
done  in  brilliancy  and  in  result." 


Johnson's  Administration. 

1.  On  the  death  of  the  lamented  Lincoln,  the  vice-presi 
dent,  Andrew  Johnson,  became  the  third  "  accidental  Presi 
dent."     The  funeral    obsequies 
of  the  late  President     Funeral 
occupied  for  a  short  of  Abraham 
time  the  attention  of       mco  n* 
the  whole  people.     His  remains 
were  borne  to  Springfield,  Illi 
nois,  the   former  home    of   the 
deceased  ;  and,  as  the  procession 
moved   on   its   long  journey  of 
nearly  two  thousand  miles,  the 
people  everywhere  sought  to  give 
expression   to   their  reverential 

ANDREW  JOHNSON.  sorrow.     At  the  great  cities  the 

body  lay  in  state,  and  all  business  was  suspended. 

2.  The  great  work  of  disbanding  the  army  was  the  first  to 
be  attended  to.     The  leading  newspaper  in  Europe  had  said  : 

'  It  is  true  that  the  United  States  have 


296  JoJmsorts  Administration.  1865 

armies,  but  they  never  will  be  able  to  return  to  a  peace  foot- 

Theann      ^'     Tne  soldiers  are  masters  of  the  situation; 

they  cannot  be  disbanded.     Military  employment 

must  be  found  for  them."      This    prediction,  it   was   soon 

shown,  had  no  sufficient  foundation  ;  for  just  as  quickly  as 

the  soldiers  were  paid  they  gave  back  the  arms  they  had  used 

so  bravely,  and  returned  to  their  homes. 

3.  The  manner  in  which  the  States  of  the  South  should  be 
restored  to  their  former  political  standing,  and  the  conditions 
that  should  be  imposed  to  insure  the  protection  of  the  eman 
cipated  slaves,  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Presi- 

°n'dent  and  Congress  for  a  considerable  time,  as  they 
were  not  able  to  agree  upon  the  proper  policy  to  be  pursued. 
Proclamations  were  issued  by  the  President,  removing  re 
strictions  on  commerce  in  the  South,  and  declaring  amnesty, 
or  pardon,  to  all  persons  (except  certain  specified  classes) 
who  had  been  concerned  in  the  organization  and  defense  of 
the  Confederacy.  Several  of  the  States  that  had  belonged  to 
the  Confederacy  hastened  to  repeal  their  secession  ordi 
nances,  and  accept  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Consti 
tution  abolishing  slavery  in  every  part  of  the  United  States. 
This  amendment — the  thirteenth — having  been  duly  approved 
by  three-fourths  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  slavery  was 
declared  to  be  constitutionally  abolished  (Dec.  18,  1865).  * 

4.  Much  of  the  progress  of  "  reconstruction"  had  been 
effected  by  Congress,  in  spite  of  the  President's  opposition. 
The  latter  held  that  the  Southern  States  were  never  legally 
out  of  the  Union,  their  ordinances  of  secession  being  void  ; 
therefore  they  were  entitled  to  representation  at  once  in  the 
United  States  Congress.     Congress,  however,  while  agreeing 
with  the  president,  that  the  ordinances  were  void,  insisted 
that,    before  the  States  which  had  been   at  war   with   the 
Union  were  admitted  to  their  former  relations  to  the  Govern 
ment,  they  should  be  required  to  retrace  certain  steps  they 

1  The  next  amendment,  the  14th,  was  adopted  in  July,  1868. 


i860  Reconstruction  Completed.  297 

had  taken  in  legislation,  respecting  secession,  and  be  further 
required  to  give  certain  guarantees. 

5.  The  President  declared  the  position  taken  by  Congress 
to  be  a  "  new  rebellion  ;"  and  in  his  messages  and  speeches 
he  manifested  open  hostility  to  that  body.     The  quarrel  was 
brought  to  an  issue  by  the  passage  of  a  resolution  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  impeaching  President  Johnson  of 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.     The  impeachment  articles, 
eleven  in  number,  were  duly  submitted  to  the  Senate,  accord 
ing  to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  President 
was  tried  on  three  of  them.     After  a  long  trial,  he  was  ac 
quitted,  a  large  majority,  but  not  two-thirds  of  the  Senators, 
having  pronounced  him  guilty,  when  the  Senate,  as  a  court, 
adjourned  (May  26,  1868). 

6.  Previous   to  this,   in  1867,  the  number  of  States  had 
been  increased  to  thirty-seven,  by  the  admission  of  Nebraska, 
originally  a  part  of  the  "  Louisiana  Purchase."     During  the 
same  year  the  territoxiaLposse^ssions  of  the  United    Nebraska 
States  were  Tery  greatly  enlarged  by  the  addition  and  Alaska, 
of  Alaska,  formerly  known  as  Russian  America,  a  country 
valuable  foj:  its  coast  fisheries,  its  furs,  and  its  forests  of  white 
pine    and  "yellow  cedar.     "T-kis-TEsfr" tract,  -larger'  than  tHe 
original  thirteen  States,  was  purchased  of  Russia  for  seven 
million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  gold. 


Grant's  Administration. 

1.  The  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for  President, 
in  the  fall  of  1868,  was  General  Grant  ;  that  of  the  Demo 
crats  was  Horatio  Seymour.  The  former  was  elected  by  a 
very  large  majority.  Grant's  administration  commenced  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1869.  During  that  year  the  Reconstruction 
three  States,  Virginia,  Mississippi,  and  Texas,  completed. 
were  restored  to  representation  in  Congress,  and  thus  the 

reconstruction    of    the    Union"   was  fully   accomplished. 


" 


298 


Grant's  Administration. 


1871 


ULYSSES   8.    GKANT. 


Texas  was  the  last  State  to  accept  the  amended  Constitution. 

This  included  a  new  amend 
ment — the      fifteenth — which 
guaranteed  the  right  of   suf 
frage   to   all   citizens    of    the 
United  States  without  regard 
to   "  race,    color.,  or  previous 
condition  of   servitude."     Its 
object   was  to   secure    to   the 
negroes  of  every  State  in  the 
Union  the  privilege  of  voting. 
2.  The   depredations    com 
mitted   by  the   Alabama   and 
other   Confederate  privateers, 
built  and  equipped  in  British 
ports,  were  a  cause  of  much  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of  the  people 
The        of  the  United  States  against  the  British  govern- 
Alabama     ment  ;  and,  while  the  latter  refused  to  make  any 
claims,      compensation  for  the  injury  inflicted,  this  feeling 
continued.     At  length,  after  a  correspondence  between  the 
two  governments,  continued  from  Lincoln's  administration, 
a  commission,    composed    of   English  and  American   repre 
sentatives,  met  at  Washington,  and  concluded  a  treaty  which 
provided  for  the  settlement  of  "  all  causes  of  difference  be 
tween  the  two  countries  (1871)." 

3.  In  conformity  with  this  treaty,  a  tribunal  of  five  arbitra 
tors — one  from  each  of  the  countries,  the  United  States, 
Great  Britain,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Brazil — met  in 

Destructive  Conflagrations.— In  October,  1871,  the  most  destructive 
fire  in  the  history  of  tins  country  occurred  at  Chicago.  About  eighteen 
thousand  buildings  were  consumed.  The  area  burned  over  was  more 
than  two  thousand  acres  ;  and  the  value  of  property  destroyed  was  not 
much  less  than  two  hundred  million  dollars.  During  the  same  month, 
forest  fires  raged  in  parts  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  and 
were  scarcely  less  destructive  than  the  Chicago  conflagration.  In  a  little 
more  than  a  year  after  (Nov.,  1872),  a  fire  occurred  in  Boston,  which  laid 
waste  sixty-five  acres.  The  total  loss,  in  houses  and  merchandise,  was 
about  seventy-five  million  dollars. 


1872  Re-election  of  Grant.  299 

Geneva,  Switzerland,  where  they  examined  and  decided  all 
questions  submitted  to  them  ;  and  finally  made  an  award  of 
damages  to  the  amount  of  fifteen  and  a  half  million  dollars, 
to  be  paid  to  the  United  States  for  the  satisfaction  of  all  the 
claims  "known  as  the  Alabama  claims,  growing  out  of  the 
acts  committed  by  the  several  vessels  (1872)."  Accordingly 
that  amount  was  promptly  paid  by  Great  Britain.1 

4.  The  twenty-second  presidential  election  took  place  in 
the  fall  of  1872.  There  was  littlo  at  issue  betwen  the  politi 
cal  parties.  Grant  was  again  the  candidate  of  the  Eepubli- 
cans.  His  competitor  was  Horace  Greeley,  "  a  Re-election 
distinguished  journalist  and  leader  of  public  opin-  of  Grant, 
ion."  The  latter  was  the  nominee  of  Kepublicans,  who,  call 
ing  themselves  Liberal  Republicans,  were  not  satisfied  with 
Grant's  administration.  He  also  received  the  nomination  of 
the  Democratic  party.  After  the  election  on  the  part  of  the 
people  was  over,  and  it  was  certain  that  Grant  had  received  a 
large  majority  of  their  votes,  but  before  the  "  State  electors" 
had  met  in  their  "  respective  States"  to  carry  out  the  popu 
lar  decision,  Greeley  died.  The  excitement  and  labor  of  the 
campaign,  together  with  domestic  bereavement,  had  broken 
him  down. 


Business  Depression. — A  money  panic  occurred  in  the  Fall  of  1873  ; 
and  business  depression, — the  result  of  excessive  speculation  in  railroad 
stocks,  of  railroad  building,  and  other  causes, — followed,  and  continued 
for  a  number  of  years.  Some  called  all  this  trouble  "  the  natural  result 
of  the  war." 

1  Among  the  provisions  of  the  Washington  treaty  was  one  for  the  set 
tlement  of  the  northwest  boundary  from  a  point  on  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  to  the  Pacific  ocean  ;  and  another  for  the  settlement  of  a  long 
standing  dispute  respecting  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
to  catch  fish  off  the  coast  of  the  British  American  provinces.  The 
boundary  dispute  was  referred  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  made  a 
decision  in  favor  of  the  United  States  (1871).  The  fishery  dispute  was 
not  settled  till  several  years  later.  Three  commissioners  met  in  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  by  a  majority  vote,  decided  that  the  United  States 
should  pay  five  and  a  half  million  dollars  for  the  fishery  privil  ges  for  a 
period  of  twelve  years.  The  award  was  not  regarded  as  equitable  by 
the  people  and  government  of  the  United  States,  but  the  amount  was 
duly  paid  (1878). 


300  Grants  Administration.  1876 

5.  The  year  1876,  the  centennial  of  American  independ 
ence,  was  one  of  great  rejoicing  throughout  the  Union.    The 
important  events  of  the  Eevolution  that  had  occurred  a  hun- 

T,  dred  years  before — prominently  that  of  the  Declara 
tion's  tion  of  Independence — were  duly  commemorated, 
entenmal.  Among  £ne  most  interesting  events  of  this  centen 
nial  year,  was  the  International  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia, 
commonly  known  as  the  "  World's  Fair."  For  the  purposes 
of  this  exhibition,  nearly  two  hundred  buildings  were  erected 
in  Fairmount  Park,  the  six  principal  ones  covering  more 
than  sixty  acres.  In  these  were  exhibited  specimens  of  the 
farming  products  and  the  manufactured  goods  of  nearly  every 
State  in  the  Union,  and  of  the  most  important  foreign  coun 
tries.  Beautiful  works  of  art,  and  other  articles  designed  to 
show  the  progress  made  by  different  States  and  countries  in 
science  and  education,  were  also  exhibited.  During  the  six 
months  in  which  the  "  Fair"  was  open,  nearly  ten  million 
persons  visited  it. 

6.  Another  important  event  of  the  year  was  the  admission 
of  Colorado  into  the  Union,  hence  this  "  Eocky   Mountain 
Sister"  is  familiarly  called  the  Centennial  State.     Part  of  its 

The        territory,  that  north  of  the  Arkansas  river  and  east 

Centennial    of  the  Rocky  mountains,  was  originally  a  portion 

State,       of  the  tt  Loujsiana  Purchase."     All  the  remaining 

portion  was  included  in  the  Mexican  cession  of  1848.     The 

Union  now  consists  of  thirty-eight  States  (1879). 

7.  The  growth  of  the  nation  during  the  hundred  years  of 
its  existence  was  indeed  marvelous.     The  first  census,  taken 
in  1790,  showed  a  total  population  in  the  thirteen  States  and 

national  territory,    of  about  four  millions.     The 

century     last  census,  that  of  1870,  made  known  the  fact 

of  progress,  tnat  the  pOpuiatiOn  of  the  United  States  exceeded 

thirty-eight   millions.     Of   this   number,    the   city   of  New 

York,  which,  in  1790,  was  smaller  than  Philadelphia,  and 

contained  only  about  thirty-three  thousand  inhabitants,  had 

now  almost  a  million.    All  the  great  cities  of  what  used  to  be 


The  Century  of  Progress.  301 

called  the  West,  attained  their  astonishing  growth  within  the 
century.  Cincinnati,  in  1805,  contained  only  about  five  hun 
dred  inhabitants  ;  and  Chicago,  in  1831,  was  a  mere  village. 
St.  Louis  was  but  a  small  trading  town,  when,  with  Louisiana, 
it  came  under  the  United  States  government.  New  Orleans, 
then  (in  1790)  a  French  settlement,  but  in  the  possession 
of  Spain,  was  a  town  of  only  a  few  hundred  inhabitants. 

8.  The  vast  fertile  domain  of  our  country,  constantly  pre 
senting  new  fields  for  farming  industry,  has  made  agricul 
ture  the  leading  pursuit,  except  in  some  small  sections.     The 
immense   production   of   the   cereal   grains,  such   as   wheat, 
Indian  corn,  rye,  oats,  and  barley,  in  the  Northern  States  ; 
and  of     cotton,    rice,  sugar,    etc.,  in  the  Southern,  has  of 
fered  a  splendid  reward  to  the  farmer  and  the  planter.     The 
cultivation  of  cotton  has  been  a  prominent   feature  in  the 
agricultural  history  of  the  country,  and  its  results  have  revo 
lutionized  the  commerce  of  the  world.     In  1790,  it  had  hardly 
commenced  ;  but,  in  1860,  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  War,  it  reached  the  enormous  aggregate  of  two  thou 
sand  million  pounds,  or  four  million  bales,  and  was  the  chief 
article  of  export  of  the  country. 

9.  The  magnetic  telegraph  has  already  been  referred  to. 
In  1860,  there  were    over  fifty  thousand  miles  of  telegraph 
wires   in    operation.     The  laying  of  the   Atlantic   cable,    a 
telegraph  stretching  from  Ireland    to  Newfoundland,  upon 
the  bed  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  was  one  of  the  most  valuable 
as  well  as  interesting  achievements  of  science.     After  failures 
in   the   attempt   in   1857,    1858,  and    1865,    it  was   at   last 
accomplished,  in  1866,  by  means  of  the  Great  Eastern,  the 
largest  steam  vessel  ever  constructed.     The  success  of  this 
enterprise  was  largely  due  to  the  intelligence  and  untiring 
energy  of  Cyrus  W.  Field. 

10.  Perhaps  no  country  in  the  world  has  been  more  dis 
tinguished  for  useful  inventions  than  the  United  States.     It 
was  the  discoveries  of  Dr.  Franklin  in  electricity  that  led  to 
its  practical  applications  ;  and  to  Morse  is  due  the  credit  of 


302  Grants  Administration. 

making  the  most  useful  of  these  in  the  electro-magnetic  tele 
graph  (seep.  236).  The  cotton-gin,  as  we  have  seen,  increased 
a  hundredfold  the  value  of  the  cotton  culture  (see  p.  188). 
The  history  of  the  sewing-machine,  like  that  of  almost  every 
other  great  piece  of  mechanism,  shows  that  "  the  invention 
was  a  growth  rather  than  an  inspiration  ;"  but  the  name  of 
Elias  Howe  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  success  of  this 
invention  of  priceless  value  to  civilization.  American  inge 
nuity,  too,  has  given  us  that  wonder-working  contrivance, 
the  cylinder  press,  by  means  of  which  twenty-five  thousand 
copies  of  a  newspaper  may  be  struck  off  in  a  single  hour.1 
To  these  may  be  added  a  host  of  other  valuable  inventions, 
including  farming  implements  of  the  greatest  utility. 

11.  The  improvements  in  the  means  of  spreading  informa 
tion,  by  means  of  newspapers  and  books,  have  kept  pace  with 
every  other  kind  of  civil  progress.  The  press,  that  mighty 
engine  of  civilization,  has  been  ever  busy,  ever  increasing  its 
power  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  people  for  knowledge. 
Eight  thousand  periodicals  were  at  this  time  issued  in  the 
United  States,  or  about  one  for  every  five  thousand  inhabit 
ants  ;  and  the  number  of  books  published  annually  is  more 
than  three  thousand. 

12.  American  literature  is  rich 
in  works  of  genius.  The  writ 
ings  of  Washington  Irving  are 
everywhere  admired  for  their  easy, 
natural,  and  beautiful  style,  their 
kindly  influence,  and  playful 
humor.  Cooper,  the  American 
novelist,  has  never  been  surpassed 
in  the  power  of  description,  par 
ticularly  of  the  peculiar  feature  of 
Indian  life,  and  life  on  the  ocean. 
IRVING.  Bancroft,  Prescott,  Hildreth,  Mot 

ley,  Palfrey,  and   Parkman,   stand   among  the  best  writers 
1  R.  Hoe  &  Co.  have  now  (1879)  a  press  that  will  print  50,000  papers  in 
an  hour. 


The  Century  of  Progress. 


303 


BANCROFT. 


of  history  the  world  has  ever  produced.     The  History  of  the 

United  States,  by  one  of  these  writers,  George  Bancroft,  is  a 

work  of  wide-spread  fame.     It  has 

occupied   very   many    years    of    its 

gifted  author's  life,   and  is  not  yet 

finished. 

13.  American    poets   may  justly 
claim  a  place  with  the  most  celebrat 
ed  of  all  countries.     Several  poems 
written  by  William   Cullen  Bryant 
must  be  as  lasting  as  the  language 
itself.     There  are  few  school  gradu 
ates  who  have  not  learned  to  admire 
"  Thanatopsis,"  the  "Planting  of 

the  Apple  Tree,"  and  other  of  his  poems,  which  have  been  used 
as  the  means  of  cultivating  the  taste  of  our  youth,  and  im 
pressing  upon  their  minds  sentiments  of  truth,  beauty,  and 
tenderness.  Longfellow,  Whittier,  Holmes,  and  Lowell  must 

also  be  added  as  among  the 
great  poets,  not  only  of  our 
own  country,  but  of  the  world. 
In  the  domain  of  fiction  and 
miscellaneous  writing,  besides 
Irving  and  Cooper,  Haw 
thorne,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe, 
and  Julia  Ward  Howe,  ought 
to  be  mentioned  with  high 
commendation.  This  brief  list 
would  be  greatly  extended  if 
we  should  include  all  who 
BRYANT.  have  achieved  for  themselves 

fame,  and  added  luster  to  the  literature  of  their  country. 

14.  "The    public    speeches    of    a   nation's   chief    legis 
lators  are  among  the  most  luminous  landmarks  of  its  policy, 
the   most  lucid   developments    of    the    character   and  gen 
ius   of  its   institutions,  and   the   noblest   exhibitions   of   its 


304  Grants  Administration.  1877 

intellect.     The  speeches  of  many  of  our  greatest  orators  have 

not  been  preserved.  Of  the  orations 
of  Otis,  which  were  described  as 
'  flames  of  fire/  we  have  but  a  few 
meagre  reports.  We  are  persuaded 
of  the  eloquence  of  Henry  only  by 
the  history  of  its  effects.  The 
passionate  appeals  of  the  elder 
Adams,  which  '  moved  his  hearers 
from  their  seats/  are  not  in  print. 
Of  the  great  orators  of  a  later  day 
— Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  John 
LONGFELLOW.  Quincy  Adams,  Everett,  Sumner, 

and  others— we  have  the  means  of  forming  a  more  accurate 
judgment.  Their  works  belong  to  our  standard  literature. 
They  are  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  national  spirit.  They 
glow  with  the  feelings  of  the  people." 

15.  As  Grant's  second  term  of  office  drew  towards  its 
close,  the  two  great  political  parties  made  their  nominations 
for  president.  The  candidate  of  the  Democrats  was  Samuel 
23d  National  J-  Tilden,  of  New  York,  that  of  the  Republicans 
election.  was  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio.  The  election 
was  duly  held  ;  but  in  consequence  of  disputes  respect 
ing  the  electoral  votes  of  certain  of  the  States,  the  result 
was  in  doubt.  How  should  the  votes  be  counted?  As 
the  Constitution  did  not  clearly  provide  a  method,  a  Com 
mission,  composed  of  five  Senators,  five  Representatives,  and 
five  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  formed  by  Congress, 
to  decide  questions  at  issue,  both  parties  agreeing  to  abide  by 
the  result.  The  Commission  having  given  its  decisions,  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  votes  were  counted  for  Hayes,  and 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  for  Tilden.  The  president 
of  the  Senate,  in  the  presence  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  as 
sembled  in  joint  convention,  then  declared  Mr.  Hayes  to  be 
the  president  elect  (March  2,  1877). 


Summary.  305 


SUMMARY. 

Buchanan's  Administration —The  "slavery  question"  was  the 
great  topic  of  discussion,  and  "John  Brown's  Raid"  intensified 
the  discussion.  The  presidential  election  was  the  signal  for  the  se 
cession  of  South  Carolina  and  other  Southern  States,  and  for  the  for 
mation  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Minnesota,  Oregon,  and 
Kansas  were  admitted  into  the  Union  (1857-1861). 

Lincoln's. — The  great  final  conflict  betwen  the  North  and  the 
South,  the  seeds  of  which  were  planted  when  slavery  was  intro- 
duc^d  into  Virginia  (1619),  was  already  begun  when  Lincoln  was 
inaugurated.  The  gun  fired  upon  the  American  flag  at  Fort 
Sumter  was  followed  by  McClellan's  defeat  of  the  Confederates 
in  West  Virginia,  by  the  movement  against  Richmond  with  its 
disastrous  termination  at  Bull  Run  (July  21),  by  the  blockade  of 
the  Confederate  ports,  by  the  extension  of  the  war  into  Missouri, 
and  by  the  capture  of  Mason  and  Slidell. 

The  second  year  began  with  the  campaign  for  opening  the  Mis 
sissippi.  The  Union  forces  gained  a  victory  at  Mill  Spring,  cap* 
tured  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  occupied  Nashville,  won  a  vic 
tory  at  Shiloh,  and  gained  New  Orleans.  Meanwhile  a  second 
campaign  against  Richmond,  under  McClellan,  was  on  the  eve  of 
moving  when  the  Confederate  ram  Virginia  destroyed  two  Union 
ships-of-war,  and  then  had  the  memorable  engagement  with  the 
"Little  Monitor."  McClellan's  campaign,  with  its  "  seven  days' 
fighting,"  ended  in  failure  ;  and  thus  Lee,  the  Confederate  com 
mander,  found  it  easy  to  make  a  northern  invasion  ;  but,  though 
defeating  Pope  in  the  "  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,"  he  met  with  a 
repulse  at  Antietam,  and  was  compelled  to  fall  back  into  Virginia. 
The  year  closed  with  the  failure  of  Burnside's  campaign  against 
Richmond. 

Lincoln  issued  his  emancipation  proclamation  on  the  first  day 
of  the  third  year  of  the  war.  The  operations  for  the  opening  of  the 
Mississippi  were  continued  :  Murfreesboro  was  captured,  and  the 
surrender  of  Vicksbnrg  to  Grant  (July  4),  with  that  of  Port  Hud 
son  to  Banks,  finished  the  task.  The  fourth  campaign  against 
Richmond,  under  Hooker,  met  with  a  disastrous  defeat  at  Chan- 
cellorsville.  Thus  encouraged  once  more,  Lee  made  another  in 
vasion  of  the  North,  but  at  Gettysburg  met  a  defeat  (July  3)  from 
which  the  Confederates  never  recovered.  Under  Bragg,  near  Chat 
tanooga,  they  won  a  victory,  but  in  a  second  battle  lost  more  than 
they  had  gained.  The  admission  of  West  Virginia  into  the  Union 
and  the  "  Draft  Riot"  in  New  York  were  also  important  events 
of  the  year. 

After  the  Red  river  expedition,  Sherman's  movement  against 
Atlanta  and  Grant's  against  Richmond  began.  Grant,  with  Lee 
as  his  antagonist,  fought  the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and  then 


306  Topics  for  Review. 


1865. 


1869. 


advanced  to  the  vicinity  of  Petersburg.  Lee's  army,  being  safe 
behind  intrenchments,  and  the  Shenandoah  valley  open,  the  Con 
federates,  under  Early,  entered  the  valley  and  invaded  Maryland, 
but,  after  some  successes,  were  defeated  by  Sheridan,  and,  as 
an  army,  destroyed.  Sherman,  after  fighting  a  number  of  battles 
and  capturing  Atlanta,  made  his  great  march  to  the  sea.  The  de 
struction  of  the  Alabama  by  the  Kearsarge,  Farragut's  victory  in 
Mobile  bay,  and  the  admission  of  Nevada  into  the  Union,  were 
also  important  events. 

Sherman  continued  his  campaign,  and,  advancing  towards 
Richmond,  captured  Columbia ;  Charleston  and  Wilmington,  in 
consequence,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  forces.  Meanwhile 
Grant,  never  losing  an  inch  of  ground,  so  pressed  upon  the  Con 
federates  that  they  were  finally  compelled  to  evacuate  Petersburg 
and  Richmond.  The  surrender  of  Lee  and  Johnson,  the  assassi 
nation  of  Lincoln,  and  the  constitutional  abolishment  of  slavery, 
were  the  other  notable  events  of  the  year. 

Johnson's  Administration. — The  abolishment  of  slavery,  as  stated 
by  the  adoption  of  the  thirteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
(Dec.  1865),  the  adoption  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  (July  1868), 
the  President's  impeachment  and  trial,  and  the  purchase  of 
Alaska,  occurred  during  Johnson's  administration  (1865-1869). 

Grant's. — The  adoption  of  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution  (1870),  the"  Alabama  Treaty,"  the  great  fire  in  Chicago, 
the  National  Centennial,  the  World's  Fair  at  Philadelphia,  and 
the  admission  of  Colorado  into  the  Union,  belong  to  Grant's  admin 
istration  (1869-1877). 


TOPICS    FOR   REVIEW. 

(See  the  hints  and  directions,  p.  49.) 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

James  Buchanan. 253-257 

Abraham  Lincoln.  (See  Raymond's  Life  of  Lincoln,  also  Bar 
rett's  Crosby's,  and  Holland's  ;  also  Carpenter's  "  Six  Months 
at  the  White  House.") 255-294 

Jefferson  Davis.  (See  Alfriend's  Life  of  Davis,  also  Pollard's 

"Southern  Confederacy.")  -  ------  256-291 

Winfield  Scott.  (See  Mansfield's  Life  of  Scott,  also  Headley's, 

and  Victor's,  and  Scott's  Autobiography.)  -  -  212,  228,  240,  262 

George  B.  McClellan,  (See  Hillard's  Life  of  McClellan,  also  Vic- 
Tor's.)  •  261-290 

David  G.  Farragut.  (See  Headley's  "  Farragut  and  our  Naval 

Commanders.")  -  ---.--  266-289 

EobertE.  Lee.  (See  Cooke's  Life  of  Lee,  also  McCabe's  "Life 

and  Campaigns  of  Lee.")  -,.,.--  271-293 


Topics  for  Review. 


307 


John  C.  Fremont.     (See  Upliam's  "Life  and  Public  Services  of 

Fremont,"  also  Magoon's  Life  of  Fremont.)     -         -         -        239-272 

Wm.  T.  Sherman.     (See  "  Memoirs  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  by 

himself.") 283-290 

Joseph  E.  Johnston.     (See  "  Narrative  of  Military  Operations  by 

Joseph  E.  Johnston.")      -         -         -         -     .  -        -        -        271-293 

Thomas  J.  Jackson.    (See  Addey's  Life  of  Jackson,  also  Dabney's.)  271-277 

Andrew  Johnson.     (See  Peterson's  "Life,  Speeches,  and  Services 

of  Andrew  Johnson.") 290-297 

IT.  .S.  Grant.     (See   Badeau's   Military    History   of   Grant,    also 
Phelps's   Life   of   Grant,   and  Mrs.  Stowe's  "Men  of  Our 

Times.") 263  (note)-304 

GEOGRAPHICAL. 


Harper's  Ferry,  Va 254-273 

Charleston..  ..128,  142-166,  255-290 

Fort  Sumter 166,  256-290 

Montgomery,  Ala 256,  261 

Columbia  river 196,  257 

Alexandria,  Va 261 

Norfolk,  Va 261,  268,271 

Richmond,  Va 261-292 

Washington 195-213,  247-293 

New  Orleans, 46,  214,  266-268 

Tennessee  river 265,  266,  282 

Nashville,  Tenn 265, 286 

Memphis,  Tenn 266 

Corinth,  Miss 266 

Wilmington,  N.  C 290  (note). 


Fredericksburg,  Va 274 

Chancellorsville,  Va 277 

Chambersburg,Pa.273(note),277,288 

Gettysburg,  Pa 277,  278 

Vicksburg",  Miss 266,  280, 281 

New  York 257,268281 

Murfreesboro',  Tenn.. 274 (note),  282 

Chattanooga,  Tenn 282,  283 

Atlanta,  Ga 285 

Savannah 99,  164,  165,  267,287 

Petersburg,  Va 288, 292 

Winchester,  Va 288 

Shenandoah  valley 288,  289 

Mobile  and  Mobile  bay 214,289 

Columbia,  S.  C 290 


HISTORICAL. 


Buchanan's  election 253 

John  Brown's  raid 253,  254 

Lincoln's   election    and    in 
auguration  255,  258 

Secession 228,  255,  256, 259 

Causes  of  the  Civil  War. .  .253-238 

Southern  Confederacy 256,  261 

Battle  of  Bull  Run 261 

The  Blockade 259-276 

The  War  in  Missouri.262,  263  (note). 

The  Trent  Affair 264 

The  War  in  Kentucky  .265-284(note) 

Battle  of  Shiloh.. . .'. 266,280 

Capture  of  New  Orleans  . .  .266,  267 
Battle — Virginia  and  Moni 
tor 269 

The  Peninsular  Campaign.         270 

Lee's  first  invasion 272 

Burnside's  Campaign 274 

Emancipation 276 

Hooker's  operations 271-283 

Lee's  second  invasion 277 


Opening  of  the  Mississippi. 265-281 
Draft  Riot  in  New  York.  .  .  281 
Rosecrans's  operations.  274(note),282 

The  War  in  Tennessee 265-286 

Thomas's  operations 265-283 

Red  river  expedition 284 

Sherman's  march  to  the  sea        286 
Grant's   Campaign    in   Vir 
ginia 285-293 

Butler's  operations          261-288 

Alabama  and  Kearsarge. . ..         289 

Sheridan's  operations. ....  .288-293 

Surrender  of  Lee  and  John 
ston 293 

Assassination  of  Lincoln .  . .         293 

Reconstruction 296,  297 

President      Johnson's      im 
peachment  and  trial. .  . .  .296,  297 
The  Alabama  Claims.  .264,  289,  298 

The  World's  Fair 300 

Century  of  Progress 300 

Political  Parties 179,  194-304 


308 


Hayes1  s  Administration. 


RUTHERFORD  B.    HAYES. 


Hayes's  Administration. 

1.  The  oath  of  office  was  taken  in  the  "  White  House" — 
the  President's  mansion— by  Mr.  Hayes,  on  Saturday  evening, 
March   3d,   1877,  a  few   persons   only,    besides    the    Chief- 
Justice  01   the  United  States,  who 
administered  the  oath,  being  present. 
This  was  done  to  prevent  an  inter 
regnum   from   Sunday  to   Monday. 
The  inaugural  ceremonies  took  place 
on  Monday  (the  5th),  in  the  open 
air,  at  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol, 
in  the  presence  of   at  least  fifteen 
thousand  persons.     The  new  Presi 
dent  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  Great  Civil  War, 
in  which  conflict  he  had  rendered 

"gallant  and  distinguished  service,"  and  was  four  times 
wounded.  Afterward  he  was  a  member  of  Congress  and  Gov 
ernor  of  Ohio.  His  inaugural  address,  breathing  the  spirit 
of  conciliation,  was  satisfactory  to  all  parts  of  the  Union — 
the  South  as  well  as  the  North,  the  East  as  well  as  the  West. 
William  A.  Wheeler  was  inducted  into  office  as  Vice-President. 

2.  During  this  administration,  the  fishery  dispute,  respect 
ing  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  catch  fish 

important  °^  ^ne  coast  of  ^ne  British-American  provinces, 
Events.  has  oeen  settled  for  a  term  of  years  (see  note,  p. 
299).  The  railroad  riots,  begun  in  Maryland  by  the  firemen 
and  brakemen  of  a  freight  train,  against  a  reduction  of  their 
wages,  and  extended  through  Pennsylvania  and  other  States, 
by  which  a  vast  amount  of  property  was  destroyed  and  several 
lives  lost,  was  an  alarming  event  of  the  summer  of  1877.  At 
an  early  stage  in  the  progress  of  the  Great  Civil  War,  the 
banks  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  general  government, 


Hayes '  s  Administration.  309 

discontinued  the  payment  of  gold  and  silver,  using  paper 
money — mostly  "greenbacks" — instead.  This  "suspension 
of  specie  payments"  continued  till  the  1st  of  January,  1879, 
when  the  banks  and  government  resumed  specie  payments, 
and  gold  and  silver  money  once  more  came  into  common  use. 


310  Acquisition  of  Territory. 

ACQUISITION   OF   TERRITORY. 

(See  Map  opposite  page  243.) 

Original  Territory. — The  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States  at  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  extended  to  the  Mississippi  on  the  west  and  the 
great  lakes  on  the  north.  Within  these  limits  were  included  the  terri 
tory  of  Maine,  then  a  district  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  territory  of  Ver 
mont,  claimed  by  both  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  (see  p.  184),  but 
no  part  of  the  country  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  so  included 

The  Louisiana  Purchase. — The  first  acquisition  of  territory  was  a  vast 
domain  stretching  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Rocky  mountains.  This 
was  purchased  of  France  in  1803  (see  p.  196).  All  of  the  present  States 
of  Louisiana,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Iowa,  and  Nebraska,  and  the  Terri 
tories  of  Montana  and  Dakota,  with  the  greater  part  of  Minnesota  and 
Kansas,  and  a  small  portion  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  belonged  to  this 
domain.  That  part  of  Minnesota  east  of  the  Mississippi  belonged  to  the 
original  territory  of  the  United  States. 

Florida. — The  second  acquisition  was  Florida.  This  was  made  in 
1819-21,  by  purchase  from  Spain  (see  p.  220).  During  the  second  war 
with  England  (p.  206)  the  United  States  occupied  that  part  of  the  Florida 
lands,  now  of  the  State  of  Alabama,  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
they  held  possession  of  it  when  the  treaty  of  cession  was  made.  How 
far  Florida  extended  westward,  even  at  that  late  day,  was  not  fully  be 
yond  dispute. 

Oregon. — The  entire  region  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  from  lati 
tude  42°  to  about  54,°  was  long  known  as  Oregon.  It  was  claimed  by 
both  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Some  writers  have  regarded 
Oregon  as  a  part  of  the  "  Louisiana  Purchase,"  but  the  researches  of  Mr. 
Greenhow  (see  the  notes,  pp.  198,  243)  and  the  whole  history  of  the 
"Oregon  Controversy"  go  to  prove  the  contrary.  The  claim  of  the 
United  States  "was  based  upon  the  fact :  1st,  that  an  American  ship  was 
the  first  to  enter  and  ascend  to  a  considerable  distance  the  great  river  of 
the  region  (see  p.  257);  2d,  that  the  first  extensive  exploration  of  the 
region  was  made  by  Americans  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States 
government  (see  pp.  196,  257)  ;  and  3d,  that  the  first  settlement  in  the 
region  was  made  by  Americans  (see  p.  257).  To  this  it  may  be  added 
that  when,  in  1819-21,  the  United  States  made  a  tivaty  with  Spain  for 
the  purchase  of  Florida,  all  the  "rights,  claims,  and  pretensions"  of 
Spain  to  the  Oregon  region  were  transferred  to  the  United  States.  After 
an  angry  controversy  with  Great  Britain,  lasting  through  several  years, 
that  power,  in  1846,  abandoned  her  pretensions  to  all  south  of  the  49th 
parallel.  The  region  thus  yielded  was  then  organized  as  the  Territory 
of  Oregon.  It  now  includes  the  State  of  Oregon  and  the  Territories  oi 
Washington  and  Idaho. 

Texas,  California,  etc. — Texas  was  acquired  by  annexation  (see  pp.  236, 
238),  and  the  immense  tract  now  belonging  to  the  United  States  be 
tween  that  State  and  the  Pacific  was  acquired  from  Mexico  by  conquest 
and  purchase  (see  p.  243).  All  of  the  present  States  of  California  and 
Nevada,  and  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Utah,  with 
such  portion  of  Kansas,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming  as  was  not  included 
in  the  "  Louisiana  Purchase,"  belonged  to  the  region  acquired  by  annexa- 
tion,  or  by  conquest  and  purchase  from  Mexico. 

Alaska. — This  territory,  formerly  known  as  Russian  America,  was  pur- 
chased  of  Russia  in  1867  (see  p.  297). 


THE  STATES. 


THE     ORIGIN     OF    THEIR    NAMES,    AND    THE    POPULAR     OR    PET   NAMES 
APPLIED   TO   THEM. 


Virginia  was  so  called  by  Queen  Elizabeth  because  it  was  discovered  dur 
ing  the  reign  of  the  virgin  queen.  The  popular  name  for  this  State 
is  the  Old  Dominion,  but  the  origin  of  the  term  has  not  been  satisfac 
torily  determined.  It  is  also  called  the  Mother  of  States,  because 
from  its  extensive  original  domain  a  number  of  States  were  formed, 
in  whole  or  in  part.  The  name  Mother  of  Presidents  is  likewise  given 
to  it,  because  six  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  were  born 
in  the  State. 

New  York. — The  name  was  bestowed  in  compliment  to  the  Duke  of  York 
(see  p.  85).  This,  the  Empire  State,  is  the  most  populous  and  the 
wealthiest  State  in  the  Union.  It  is  also  known  as  the  Excelsior 
State,  the  motto  Excelsior  being  on  its  coat  of  arms. 

Massachusetts. — "  The  name  probably  arose  from  the  name  of  a  tribe  of 
Indians  formerly  at  Barnstable,  or  frj£m  two  Indian  words,  mas,  signi 
fying  an  Indian  arrow-head,  and  wetuset,  a  hill."  Massachusetts,  be 
fore  the  Revolution,  was  called  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  hence 
its  popular  name  of  the  Bay  State,  or  the  Old  Bay  State. 

New  Hampshire. — The  province  was  named  after  the  county  in  England, 
Hampshire,  in  which  John  Mason  lived  (see  p.  67).  New  Hampshire 
is  known  as  the  Granite  State,  the  mountainous  portions  being  largely 
composed  of  granite. 

Connecticut. — This  was  the  Indian  name  of  the  river,  meaning  the  long 
river.  Connecticut  is  often  alluded  to  as  the  Laud  of  Steady  Habits, 
in  allusion  to  the  staid  deportment  of  its  inhabitants.  Also,  the  Nut 
meg  State,  "  the  inhabitants  of  which  have  such  a  reputation  for 
shrewdness  that  they  have  been  jocosely  accused  of  palming  off 
wooden  nutmegs  on  unsuspecting  purchasers,  instead  of  the  genuine 
article." 

Maryland. — In  the  charter  granted  by  Charles  I.  the  province  was  named 
Terra  Marios,,  Mary's  Land,  in  honor  of  his  wife,  Henrietta  Maria 
(see  note,  p.  88). 

Rhode  Island. — The  island  itself,  says  one  authority,  "  was  so  called  from 
a  fancied  resemblance  to  the  island  of  Rhodes  in  the  Mediterranean 
pea."  Another  authority  says  :  that  in  consequence  of  the  reddish 


312  The  States. 


appearance  of  the  island,  it  "  was  soon  known  by  the  Dutch  as  Roode, 
or  Red  Island.  From  this  is  derived  the  name  of  the  island  and  State." 
Rhode  Island  is  called  Little  Rhody,  it  being  the  smallest  of  the  States 

Delaware.— This  State  takes  its  name  from  Lord  De  la  Ware,  one  of  the 
governors  of  Virginia  (see  p.  55).  It  is  sometimes  called  the  Diamond 
State  from  its  small  size  and  great  importance.  Also,  the  Blue  Hen, 
an  officer  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  commanding  a  Delaware  regi 
ment,  having  asserted  that  no  fighting  cock  could  be  truly  game 
whose  mother  was  not  a  blue  hen. 

North  Carolina. — The  name  Carolina  was  given  to  the  region  in  honor  of 
the  French  king,  Charles  (Carolus,  in  Latin)  IX.  (see  p.  97).  When 
we  hear  any  one  speak  of  the  Old  North  State  we  know  that  North 
Carolina  is  meant.  It  is  also  called  the  Turpentine  State,  immense 
quantities  of  turpentine  being  produced  there. 

South  Carolina  is  called  the  Palmetto  State,  "  from  the  arms  of  the  State, 
which  contain  a  picture  of  a  palmetto  tree." 

New  Jersey  derived  its  name  from  the  island  of  Jersey  (see  p.  86).  The 
pet  name  that  has  long  been  applied  to  the  people  of  this  State  is  the 
Jersey  Slues. 

Pennsylvania. — The  word  means  Penn's  woods  or  Pe tin's  forest  (see 
p.  92).  Pennsylvania  is  called  the  Keystone  State,  "  from  its  having 
been  the  central  State  of  the  Union  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  Constitution.  If  the  names  of  the  thirteen  original  States  are 
arranged  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  Pennsylvania  will  occupy  the  place 
of  the  keystone." 

Georgia. — The  colony  was  so  called  in  honor  of  the  king,  George  II. 
(see  p.  99).  Georgia  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  Empire  State  of  the 
South,  but  the  term  more  properly  belongs  to  Texas. 

Vermont. — When  the  French  were  in  possession  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
valley  they  called  the  Green  Mountains,  Vermont,  vert,  meaning  green, 
and  mont,  mountain.  Vermont  is,  in  familiar  terms,  called  the  Green 
Mountain  State,  and  its  male  inhabitants  are  called  the  Green  Moun 
tain  Boys. 

Kentucky. — An  Indian  word,  signifying,  says  J.  H.  Trumbull,  "at  the 
head  of  a  river."  The  popular  name  of  the  State  is  the  Corn-Cracker 
State;  its  inhabitants  are  often  called  Corn-Crackers. 

Tennessee. — An  Indian  word,  signifying  river  of  the  big  bend.  Tennessee 
has  been  called  the  Volunteer  State,  from  the  fact  that  during  the  war 
of  1812  and  the  wars  against  the  Seminoles  it  furnished  large  numbers 
of  volunteer  soldiers. 

Ohio. — An  Indian  word,  meaning  beautiful.  Ohio  is  called  the  Buckeye 
State,  from  the  buckeye  tree  which  abounds  there.  The  inhabitants 
are  often  called  Buckeyes. 


The  States.  313 


Louisiana  was  so  called  in  honor  of  Louis  XIV.,  of  France  (see  p.  46).  It 
is  called  the  Creole  State,  the  descendants  of  the  original  French  and 
Spanish  settlers  being  a  large  part  of  the  habitants. 

Indiana. — From  the  word  Indian.  The  name  Indiana  was  first  applied 
in  1768  to  a  grant  of  land  north  of  and  near  the  Ohio  river  which  a 
company  of  traders  that  year  obtained  from  the  Indians.  Indiana  is 
known  as  the  Hoosier  State,  and  its  inhabitants  as  Hoosiers.  "  The 
word  is  said  to  be  a  corruption  of  husher,  formerly  a  common  term  for 
a  bully  throughout  the  West." 

Mississippi. — An  Indian  name,  signifying  the  great  and  long  river.  Because 
of  its  numerous  bayous  or  creeks,  Mississippi  is  known  as  the  Bayou 
State. 

Illinois. — The  first  part  of  this  word,  signifying  men,  is  of  Indian  origin  ; 
the  remaining  part,  ois,  meaning  tribe  of  men,  is  from  the  French. 
This  State,  in  allusion  to  its  wide-spread  and  beautiful  prairies,  is  known 
as  the  Prairie  State. 

Alabama. — An  Indian  word,  said  to  signify  here  we  rest. 

Maine. — Authors  do  not  agree  as  to  how  and  when  Maine  received  its 
name.  One  writer  says  :  "  It  was  called  the  Main  land,  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  islands  along  the  coast,  which  were  valuable  for  fishing 
purposes."  Varney,  in  his  History  of  Maine,  says  :  "In  1639  Gorges 
procured  a  royal  grant  of  land  extending  from  the  Piscataqua  to  the 
Kennebec.  The  name  of  the  territory  under  the  new  charter  was 
changed  to  Maine,  in  honor  of  the  queen  (Henrietta  Maria,  wife  of 
Charles  I.),  whose  patrimonial  estate,  as  Princess  of  France,  was  the 
French  province  of  Mayne."  Maine  is  the  Lumber  State,  "  the  in 
habitants  being  largely  engaged  in  cutting  and  rafting  lumber." 

Missouri. — This  is  an  Indian  name,  signifying  muddy.  It  was,  of  course, 
first  applied  to  the  river. 

Arkansas. — Kansas,  an  Indian  word,  signifies  smoky  water.  The  prefix 
ar  (arc),  meaning  a  bow,  is  French.  Because  of  the  number  of  bears 
that  infested  its  forests,  Arkansas  is  often  called  the  Bear  State. 

Michigan. — Trumbull  says  :  "  The  word  is  Indian,  signifying  a  weir  for 
fish."  Another  authority  says  :  "  It  signifies  great  lake."  Michigan  is 
known  as  the  Lake  State,  it  bordering  on  four  great  lakes  ;  also  as  the 
Wolverine  State,  because  of  the  great  number  of  wolverines  formerly 
abounding  there.  The  inhabitants  are  sometimes  designated  as  Wol 
verines. 

Florida  was  discovered  on  Pascua  Florida  day,  hence  its  name  (see  p. 
33).  Florida's  pet  name  is  the  Peninsula  State. 

Texas. — "  The  name  was  derived  from  a  small  tribe  of  Indians  that 
inhabited  a  village  called  Tehas,  meaning  friendly."  Texas  is  called 


314  The  States. 


the  Lone  Star  State,  the  Texas  flag,  before  the  admission  of  the  State 
into  the  Union,  having  a  single  star.  The  coat  of  arms  of  the  State 
has  a  "  lone  star"  (see  p.  236). 

Iowa.— This,  according  to  Trumbull,  is  "  the  French  form  of  an  Indian 
word,  signifying  the  drowsy  or  the  sleepy  ones."  Iowa  is  called  the 
Hawkeye  State,  after  an  Indian  chief. 

Wisconsin. — This  State  takes  its  name  from  a  large  tributary  of  the 
Mississippi  discovered  by  Marquette,  and  called  by  him  Masconsin  (wild 
rushing  channel).  Masconsin  became  changed  to  Ouisconsin,  and  finally 
to  Wisconsin.  Owing  to  the  great  number  of  badgers  that  were 
formerly  in  the  State,  it  was  and  is  called  the  Badger  State.  The 
State's  coat  of  arms  has  a  picture  of  a  badger. 

California. — A  romance  was  published  in  Spain  in  1510,  in  which  the 
word  California,  applied  to  an  imaginary  island,  for  the  first  time 
occurs.  Cortez  had  read  the  book,  it  is  supposed,  and  when  he  sailed 
along  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  in  1535,  he  called  the  country  Califor 
nia.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  root  of  the  word  is  Arabic,  mean 
ing  caliph.  California  is  known  as  the  Golden  State,  it  being  the  most 
important  gold-producing  region  in  the  world. 

Minnesota. — The  name  is  from  two  Indian  words,  signifying  sky-colored 
water  or  cloudy  water.  The  familiar  appellation  of  Minnesota  is  the 
North  Star  State.  On  its  seal  are  the  words  L'etoile  du  Nord,  the  Star 
of  the  North. 

Oregon. — The  name,  says  Trumbull,  "comes  from  an  Indian  language, 
with  which  the  traveler  Carver  had  been  for  many  years  familiar, 
and  it  is  the  accurate  translation  into  that  language  of  the  name  by 
which,  as  Carver  had  reason  for  believing,  the  '  Great  River  of  the 
West'  was  designated  by  the  tribes  that  lived  near  it."  Owing  to  a 
peculiarity  of  the  climate  of  Oregon,  characterized  by  dry  months  in 
the  summer  and  early  autumn,  and  excessive  rain  in  the  winter,  the 
State,  and  more  particularly  that  portion  lying  west  of  the  Cascade 
mountains,  has  been  called  the  Web-foot  Country ;  its  inhabitants  are 
called  Web-foots. 

Kansas. — An  Indian  word,  signifying  smoky  water.  The  name  Garden 
of  the  West  is  often  given  to  this  State,  but  it  is  also  given  to  Illinois 
and  other  Western  States  that  are  noted  for  their  productiveness. 

West  Virginia. — The  name  Virginia,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
was  applied  to  all  the  region  which  the  English  claimed  in  the  new 
world,  (see  p.  40).  West- Virginia,  because  of  its  grand  mountain 
scenery,  is  sometimes  called  the  Switzerland  of  America.  The  term  is 
also  occasionally  applied  to  New  Hampshire. 

Nevada. — This  State  was  named  from  the  mountain  range  on  the  w«  st  of 


The  States.  315 


it,  called  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  two  words  Sierra  Nevada  are 
Spanish,  the  former  meaning  serrated  or  saw-toothed;  the  latter, 
snowy.  When  applied  to  a  mountain  they  signify  a  serrated,  snowy 
mountain. 

Nebraska. — The  word  is  of  Indian  origin,  signifying  shallow  water.  It 
was  first  applied  to  the  Platte  river,  which  runs  through  the  State. 

Colorado. — This  word  is  Spanish,  and  means  red  or  ruddy.  Colorado  is 
familiarly  called  the  Centennial  State  (see  p.  300). 

THE  SUCCESSIVE  CAPITALS. 

THE  first  capital  of  the  United  States  was  Philadelphia.  In  the 
old  State  House,  or,  as  it  is  more  commonly  called,  Independence 
Hall,  of  that  city,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted  by  a 
Congress  of  delegates  from  the  colonies  (p.  145).  A  little  more  than 
five  months  after  that  event,  while  the  British  forces  under  Cornwallis 
were  advancing  against  Washington  across  New  Jersey  (p.  149),  Con 
gress  adjourned  to  Baltimore  (December,  1776),  but  returned  to  Phila 
delphia  less  than  three  months  later  (March,  1777).  On  the  approach  of 
Howe  against  Philadelphia,  in  September  of  that  year  (p.  154),  Congress 
adjourned  at  first  to  Lancaster,  Pa.  (September  27th  to  30th,  1777),  and 
then  to  York,  Pa.  After  the  retirement  of  the  British  from  Pennsyl 
vania  (p.  162),  Congress  returned  to  Philadelphia  (July,  1778),  and  that 
city  continued  to  be  the  capital  till  June,  1783,  when  Congress  ad 
journed  to  Princeton,  N.  J.  (June  30),  and,  in  November  of  the  same 
year,  to  Annapolis,  Md.  (p.  177).  After  a  recess  of  five  months,  a  session 
of  Congress  was  opened  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  here  measures  were  sug 
gested  which  resulted  in  making  the  city  of  Washington  the  permanent 
seat  of  government.  In  January,  1785,  Congress  adjourned  to  New  York 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Congress  of  the  Revolution,  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  was  not  much  like  our  present  Congress.  It 
was  more  of  a  continuous  body,  in  which,  after  the  first  three  or  four 
years,  all  the  States  were  seldom  represented  at  the  same  time. 

When  the  Constitution  went  into  operation  New  York  was  still  the 
capital  (p.  182),  and  in  that  city  Washington  was  inaugurated  president, 
and  there  he  resided  until  1790,  when,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  the  capital 
was  removed  to  Philadelphia  for  a  period  of  ten  years  (p.  191).  By  this 
act  it  was  also  determined  to  establish  the  permanent  capital  some 
where  on  the  Potomac  river,  the  site  to  be  selected  by  the  president. 
After  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Washington  made  a  tour  through 
the  Southern  States,  and,  stopping  several  days  on  the  Potomac,  per 
formed  the  duty  imposed  upon  him.  In  the  nation's  new  capital,  the 
city  of  Washington,  Congress  assembled  in  November  of  1800. 


316  Political  Parties. 


POLITICAL   PARTIES. 

1.  During  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American  colonies 
the  Tory  party  in  power  was  more  determined  to  adopt  and  prosecute 
harsh  and  unjust  measures  against  the  colonists  than  the  opposition, 
the  Whig  party.     Hence  the  colonists  who  adhered  to  the  crown  were 
called  Tories,  while  those  who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  lib 
erty  and  independence  were  called  Whigs ;    and  for  many  years  these 
latter  took  pleasure  in  styling  themselves  American  Whigs. 

2.  When  the  Constitution  was  presented  to  the  States  for  adoption 
(1787)  it  met  with  very  decided  opposition.     Its  friends,  believing  that 
in  the  event  of  its  rejection  the  Union  could  not  continue  to  exist,  took 
the  name  of  Federalists :  upon  their  opponents  they  bestowed  the  name 
of  Anti-Federalists.     The  former  wanted  a  strong  government,  strong 
enough  to  make  itself  obeyed  at  home  and  respected  abroad.     The  lat 
ter,  "  opposed  to  conferring  so  much  power  upon  the  general  govern 
ment,"  preferred  a  confederacy,  such  as  then  existed,   to  any  federal 
government  whatever.     In  the  ranks  of  the  Federalists  were  included 
Washington,  Hamilton,  John  Adams,  Jay,  and  Marshall.     The  leaders 
of  the  other  side,  who  at  first  permitted  themselves  to  be  designated  as 
Anti-Federalists,  but  who  subsequently  called  themselves  Republicans, 
and  at  a  later  period   Democrats,   were  Jeiferson,   Randolph,   George 
Clinton,  Burr,  and  others  (p.  179).     After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  these  two  parties  continued  to  exist; 
but  the  questions  relating  to  the  regulation  of  commerce,  the  tariff,  the 
public  debt,  a  national  bank,  and  the  French  Revolution,  created  new 
issues,  and  to  a  large  extent  blended  party  lines.     The  opposition  of  the 
Federalists  to  the  war  of  1812,  the  favor  they  extended  to  the  Hartford 
Convention  (p.  215),  and  other  causes,  completed  their  overthrow  and 
led  to  their  final  extinction  as  a  party. 

3.  The  first  three  elections — Washington's  two  and  John  Adams'  one 
— were  Federal  victories.     The  election  of  Jefferson  (in  1801),  the  first 
Republican  victory,  was  the  first  great  political  revolution  in  the  United 
States.     The  two  elections  of  Madison  were  also  triumphs  of  the  Re 
publican  party,  though  Madison  had  co-operated  with  Hamilton  and 
Jay  in  defending  the  Constitution  (p.  179).     The  Republicans  were  now, 
as  they  had  been  all  along  since  the  first  election  of  Jefferson,  opposed 
to  any  currency  but  gold  and  silver.     The  two  succeeding  elections, 
those  of  Monroe,  may  also  be  regarded  as  Republican  victories,  though 
party  lines  were  almost  obliterated,  the  eight  years  of  Monroe's  admin 
istration  being  known  as  "the  era  of  good  feeling"  (p.  219).    The  next 


Political  Parties.  317 

presidential  election, there  being  no  regularly  organized  political  parties, 
was  more  of  a  personal  than  a  party  contest.  Most  of  the  members  of 
the  now  extinct  Federal  party,  however,  supported  Adams  (p.  222). 

4.  The  presidential  contest  of  1828,   ' '  the  most  bitter  in  American 
history,"  was  largely  of  a  personal  character.     Its  result,  the  election  of 
Jackson,  was  a  victory  for  the  Democratic  party  (p.  226).     The  oppo 
nents  of  the  Democrats  began  at  this  time  to  be  called  Whigs,  though  they 
were  more  generally  known  as  National  Republicans.     Jackson's  ad 
ministration  was  engaged  in  an  almost  constant  strife  with  the  Whigs, 
the  Anti-Masons,    and  the  United  States  Bank  ;    but    his  popularity 
secured  him  a  second  election  and  also  the  election  of  his  friend  Van 
Buren  (p.  230).     A  faction  of  the  Democratic  party  at  this  time  was 
called  Loco-Focos.     The  name  originated  in  1834,  from  an  incident  that 
occurred  at  a  meeting  in  Tammany  Hall,  New  York.     Two  factions, 
differing  widely  in  opinion,  were  contending  amid  a  scene  of  confusion 
and  tumult,  when  suddenly  the  gas-lights  were  extinguished  by  one  of 
the  factions  with  a  view  to  break  up  the  meeting.     At  once,  however, 
the  opposite  faction  relighted  the  hall  by  means  of  loco-foco  matches, 
and  accomplished  their  object.     In  the  election  of  1840  the  Wliigs  were 
successful,  their  candidate,  Harrison,  being  chosen  by  a  large  majority 
(p.  233). 

5.  In  the  contest  of  1844  the  Democratic  party  favored  the  "annexa 
tion  of  Texas,"  the  "whole  of  Oregon  or  none,"  and  alow  tariff.     It 
was  the  most  closely  contested  election  thus  far  in  the  history  of  the 
country.     If  the  Abolition  vote  had  been  given  to  Clay  he  would  have 
been  elected.     As  it  was,  Polk,  the  Democratic  nominee,  was  the  suc 
cessful  candidate  (p.  237).     As  the  next  canvass  approached  two  factions 
again  appeared  in  the  Democratic  party.     One  of  these,  known  as  the 
Hunkers,    or    Conservatives,   endeavored    to  ignore   the    slavery  ques 
tion  altogether.     The  other  faction,  known  as  Free  Soil  Democrats,  but 
called  by  their  opponents  Barnburners,  took  a  stand  against  the  further 
extension  of  slavery,  and  finally  joined  the  Free  Soilers.     Three  candi 
dates  were  then  put  in  nomination,  including  ex-president  Van  Buren, 
the  nominee  of  the  Free  Soilers.     The  result  was  in  favor  of  Taylor, 
and  thus  the  Whigs  came  a  second  time  into  power  (p.  244);  but  they 
held  it  for  only  the  brief  period  of  four  years,  when  the  Democrats, 
wit^i  Pierce  as  their  standard-bearer,  were  successful  (p.  249).     Before 
the  next,  the  eighteenth  national  election,  took  place,  the  Whig  party, 
neither   pro-slavery  nor  anti-slavery,    ceased   to   exist,    and  two   new 
parties,    the   Republican   and   the   American,    came   into   being.     The 
Republicans  were  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  the  Americans  to 
the  easy  naturalization  of  foreigners.     The  latter  belonged  to  a  secret 
organization,  of  whose  name,  nature,  and  objects  nothing  at  first  was 


318  Political  Parties. 


told  even  to  its  members.  As  they  consequently  declared  that  they 
knew  nothing  about  it,  they  were  commonly  called  Know-Nothings. 
The  Democrats,  with  Buchanan  as  their  candidate,  carried  the  election 
(p.  253). 

6.  The  presidential  contest  in  the  fall  of  1860  saw  four  candidates  in 
the  field,  Breckinridge,  Douglass,  Bell,  and  Lincoln.     The  first,  the  can 
didate  of  one  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  was  in  favor  of  carrying 
slavery  into  the  Territories;  the  second,  the  candidate  of  the  other  wing 
of  the  party,  announced  that  the  people  of  the  territories  ought  to  decide 
the  question  of  slavery  for  themselves.     Bell,  the  nominee  of  the  Ameri 
can,  or,  as  it  was  now  called,  the  Constitutional  Union  Party,  evaded  the 
question  of  slavery  altogether;  while  Lincoln,  the  Republican  candidate, 
was  opposed  to  the  further  extension  of  slavery  (p.  255).      Lincoln's 
election  was  the  signal  for  the  secession  movement.      In  1864,   with 
Lincoln,  the  Republicans  were  again  successful  (p.  290). 

7.  The  Republican  party,  after  the  great  civil  wrar,  holding  that  the 
Southern  States  that  had  united  as  the   Confederate  States  of  America 
could  only  be  admitted  to  all  their  former  rights  in  the  Union  on  terms 
satisfactory  to   Congress,  nominated   Grant  for  the  presidency.     His 
opponent  was  Horatio  Seymour,   of  New  York.      Grant   was  elected 
(p.  297).     His  competitor  four  years  later  was  Horace  Greeley  who  had 
been  nominated  by  a  large  number  of  Grant's  former  supporters,  but 
who  had  become  dissatisfied   with  the   administration.      They  called 
themselves  Liberal  Republicans.     Greeley  was  also   nominated  by  the 
Democrats,  but  did  not  receive  their  full  vote.     Again  was  Grant  suc 
cessful.     The  next  general  election  (in  1876)  found  three  parties  con 
tending.     The  new  party,  the  National  Greenbackers,  "  composed  of  men 
who  desired  national  paper-money  instead  of  national  bank-notes,  and 
who  opposed  the  proposed  resumption  of  specie  payments,"  nominated 
Peter  Cooper  for  president.      They  polled  only  about  80,000  popular 
votes.      The   contest   was  between   Hayes  and  Tilden,   and  for  three 
months  the  result  was  in  doubt,  but  was  finally  declared  to  be  in  favor 
of  Hayes  (p.  304). 


Presidents,  Vice- Presidents,  and  States. 


PRESIDENTS   AND  VICE-PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


No. 

PRESIDENTS. 

P.ESIDENCE. 

INAUGURATED. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

1 
2 

3 
4 

5 

6 

8 
9 
10 
11 

!! 

14 

15 
16 
17 
18 
19 

George  Washington  
John  Adams  

Virginia 

April  30  1789 

John  Adams. 
Thomas  Jefferson. 
Aaron  Burr. 
George  Clinton.* 
George  Clinton. 
Elbridge  Gerry.* 
Daniel  D.  Tornpkins. 
John  C.  Calhoun. 
John  C.  Calhoun.f 
Martin  Van  Buren. 
Richard  M.  Johnson. 
John  Tyler. 

George  M.  Dallas. 
Millard  Fillmore. 

William  R.  King.* 
John  C.  Breckinridge. 
Hannibal  Hamliu. 
Andrew  Johnson. 

Schuyler  Colfax. 
Henry  Wilson.* 
William  A.  Wheeler. 

m 

Massachusetts  
Virginia  
Virginia  

March  4,  1797  
March  4,  1801...  | 

March  4,  1809...  j 

March  4,  1817.... 
March  4,  1825.  ... 

March  4,  1829...  j 

March  4,  1837... 
March  4.  1841.... 
April    6,1841.... 
March  4,  1845.... 
March  5,  1849  
July    10,  1850.... 
March  4,  1653.... 
March  4,  1857 

Thomas  Jefferson  

James  Monroe  

John  Q.  Adams.  .  .  . 

Virginia  

Massachusetts  

Andrew  Jackson  

Vlartiu  Van  Buren  
.Villiani  H.  Harrison*... 
John  Tyler  
James  K.  Polk  

Zachary  Taylor*  » 

Tennessee  
New  York  
Ohio  

Virginia  
Tennessee.......  
Louisiana  
New  York  

Millard  Fillmore. 

Franklin  Pierce. 

New  Hampshire  
Pennsylvania  

Abraham  Lincoln*  
Andrew  Johnson.  .  
Ulysses  S.  Grant  
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  

Illinois  
Tennessee  .  
Illinois  

March  4,  1861..  j 
April  15,  1865...1 
March  4,  1869.  .  J 
March  5,  1877.  .  .  . 

Ohio  

SETTLEMENT  AND  ADMISSION  OF  THE  STATES. 


SETTLED 

IN  WHOSE 

When. 

Where. 

By  whom. 

TION. 

Virginia 

1607 

English     . 

New  York           

1614 

New  York 

Dutch.... 

<£ 

Massachusetts  
Mew  Hampshire  
Connecticut  
Maryland  
Rhode  Island  

16'JO 
1623 
1633 
16-34 
1636 

Plymouth  
Little  Harbor.... 
Windsor  
St.  Mary's  
Providence  

English  
English  
English  
English... 
English  

02 

1 

1638 

Wilmington 

Swedes 

T! 

North  Carolina  

1650 

Chowan  River..  . 

English  

c 

1664 

Elixabeth 

Dutch 

South  Carolina  

1670 
1682 

Ashley  River  
Philadelphia 

English  
English 

.c 

Georgia  

1733 

Savannah        .... 

English  

E-i 

1724 

English 

1791) 

Kentucky 

1775 

English 

1792  > 

Washington. 

1757 

-p     .  y^     ,    

English 

1796) 

Ohio 

1788 

English 

1803 

Jefferson. 

Louisiana 

1694 

Iberville 

French 

1812 

Indiana. 

1730 

French 

1816 

Mississippi 

1716 

N'ltche? 

18171 

Illinois 

1682 

K'isk'iskia 

French 

1818 

Alabama  

1711 

Mobile 

French  

1819  ^ 

Monroe. 

Maine  
Missouri  

1625 
1764 

Bristol... 
St.  Louis 

French  
French  

1820 
1821 

Arkansas..., 

1685 

French 

1836 

Michigan  

1670 

Detroit' 

French  

1837 

Florida 

1565 

1845 

Tyler. 

Texas. 

1692 

1845) 

Iowa  

1833 

English 

1846V 

Polk. 

Wisconsin  
California  

1669 
1769 

Green  Bay  
San  Diego 

French  
Spaniards 

1848) 
1850 

Fillmore. 

1846 

St    Paul 

1858) 

Oregon  
Kansas  

1811 

Astoria  

Americans.  .*..... 

1869} 
Ifitl] 

Buchanan. 

West  Virginia  

Nevada 

1774 
1850 

Wheeling  

English  
rnenc'      

1863? 
1864  J 

Lincoln. 

Nebraska  ,  

'  

1867 

Johnson. 

Colorado  

1876 

Grant. 

1 

'  '  :  

Died  in  office. 


t  Resigned. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


A  Declaration  ~by  the  Representatives  of  the   United  States  of  America 
in  Congress  assembled,  July  4,  1776. 

WHEN,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for 
one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected 
them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth, 
the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of 
nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man 
kind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them 
to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created 
equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalien- 
able  rights  ;  that  among  these,  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  That,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted 
among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned  ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive 
of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it, 
and  to  institute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such 
principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence, 
indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long  established,  should  not 
be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ;  and,  accordingly,  all 
experience  hath  shown,  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer, 
while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the 
forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But,  when  a  long  train  of 
abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces 
a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right, 
it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new 
guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  suffer 
ance  of  these  colonies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains 
them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of 
the  present  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries 
and  usurpations,  all  having,  in  direct  object,  the  establishment  of  an 
absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  sub 
mitted  to  a  candid  world  : — 


Declaration  of  Independence. 


He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  neces 
sary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and 
pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his 
assent  should  be  obtained  ;  and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly 
neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large 
districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of 
representation  in  the  legislature  ;  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and 
formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncom 
fortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public  records,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his 
measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  opposing, 
with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause 
others  to  be  elected ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of 
annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise ; 
the  state  remaining,  in  the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  danger  of 
invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  states  ;  lor 
that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  for  naturalization  of  foreigners, 
refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and 
raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his 
assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for  the  tenure  of 
their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swaims 
of  officers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  time  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without 
the  consent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior 
to,  the  civil  power.  . 

He  has  combined,  with  others,  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign 
to  our  constitution,  and  unacknowledged -by  our  laws  ;  giving  his 
assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legislation  : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  : 

For  protecting  them  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment,  for  any 


Declaration  of  Independence.  3 

murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these 
elates  : 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world : 

For  imposing  t  ixes  on  us  without  our  consent : 

For  depriving  us,  in  m;my  cases,  of  the  benefit  of  trial  by  jury : 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offences : 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring 
province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarg 
ing  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instru 
ment  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies  : 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws, 
and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  powers  of  our  governments  : 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves 
invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  pro 
tection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our  towns, 
and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercena 
ries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already 
begun,  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled 
in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civil- 
lized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high 
seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners 
of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has  en 
deavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless 
Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished 
destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress, 
in  the  most  humble  terms ;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been 
answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  prince,  whose  character  is 
thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  defile  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be 
the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attention  to  our  British  brethren. 
We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  made  by  their 
legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We 
have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and 
se  t'ement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  just;ce  and  mag- 


Declaration  of  Independence. 


nanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our  common 
kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  inter 
rupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been 
deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore, 
acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold 
them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war,  in  peace, 
friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
-in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the 
world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in -the  name,  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish 
and  declare,  that  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
:free  and  independent  states;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  alle 
giance  to  tha  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between 
them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dis 
solved;  and  that,  as  free  and  independent  states,  they  have  full 
power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  com 
merce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  states 
may  of  right  do.  And,  for  the  support  of  this  declaration,  with  a 
firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually 
pledge  to  each  other,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sac  red  honor. 

New  Hampshire.— Josiah  Bartlett,  William  Whipple,  Matthew 
Thornton.  Massachusetts  Bay.  -Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams, 
Robert  Treat  Paine,  Elbridge  Gerry.  Rhode  Island.— Stephen 
Hopkins,  William  Ellery.  Connecticut.— Roger  Sherman,  Samuel 
Huntingdon,  William  VVilliams,  Oliver  Wolcott.  New  York.- 
William  Floyd,  Philip  Livingston,  Francis  Lewis,  Lewis  Morris. 
New  Jersey.— Richard  Stockton,  John  With<rspoon,  Francis  Hop- 
kinson,  John  Hart,  Abraham  Clark.  Pennsylvania.— Robert  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush,  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Morton,  George  Clymer, 
James  Smith,  George  Taylor,  James  Wilson,  George  Ross.  Uela- 
ware.-Caesar  Rodnej',  George  Read,  Thomas  M'Kean.  Maryland. 
—Samuel  Cha<e,  William  Paca,  Thomas  Stone,  Charles  Carroll,  of 
Carrollton.  Virginia.— George  Wythe,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Thomas  Nelson,  jun.,  Francis  Light- 
foot  Lee,  Carter  Braxton.  North  Carolina.— William  Hooper, 
Joseph  Hewes,  John  Penn.  South  Carolina.— Edward  Rutledge, 
Thomas  I  ley  ward,  jun.,  Thomas  Lynch,  jun.,  Arthur  Middleton. 
Georgia.— Button  Gwinnett,  Lyman  Hall,  George  Walton. 

This  declaration  was  signed  on  the  day  of  its  adoption,  by  John  Hancock,  the 
president  of  Congress,  also  by  the  secretary ;  and  thus  it  went  forth  to  the  world. 
It  was  engrossed,  and  (Aug.  2)  signed  by  fifty -four  delegates;  afterward  two  more 
signed,  making  fifty-six  in  all. 


THE     CONSTITUTION 

OF 

THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


1.  Origin  of  the  Constitution. — When  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
commenced,  there  were  three  forms  of  colonial  government  in  force 
among  the  colonies.     (See  the  History,  p.  113.) 

On  the  llth  of  June,  1776,  Congress  resolved  that  a  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  form  of  confederation,  to  be  entered 
into  by  the  colonies.  On  the  12th  of  July  following,  this  committee, 
consisting  of  one  from  each  state,  reported  a  draft  of  Articles  of  Con 
federation.  The  Report  was  considered  and  debated  from  time  to 
time  until  the  15th  of  November,  1777,  when,  with  some  amendments, 
it  was  adopted.  These  Articles  of  Confederation  were  ratified  in  1778 
by  all  the  states  except  Delaware  and  Maryland,  and  by  Delaware  in 
1779;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  delay  on  the  part  of  Maryland,  they 
did  not  go  into  effect  until  the  1st  of  March,  1781,  the  day  on  which 
they  were  signed  by  the  delegates  from  that  state. 

2.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  not 
adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  government.     They  were  deficient  as  re 
gards  the  regulation  of  commerce,  the  settling  of  controversies  be 
tween  the  states,   the  making  of  treaties  with  foreign  nations,   and 
especially  so  in  not  conferring  the  necessary  power  upon  Congress  to 
liquidate  the  debts  incurred  during  the  war.     Consequently,  a  conven 
tion  of  delegates  from  all  the  states,   except  Rhode  Island,  met  at 
Philadelphia,  in  May,  1787,  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  Articles 
of   Confederation ;   but   it    was   thought   best    by   a   majority  of    the 
delegates  to  adopt  an  entirely  new  form  of  government,  instead  of 
making  any  attempts  to  amend  the  defective  one  then  in  existence. 
Accordingly,   on    the   17th   of   September,    17-87,  after  four   months' 
deliberation,   the  present  Constitution, — except  some  changes  which 
have  since  been  made, — was  adopted  by  the  Convention.     (See  the 
History,  p.  178.)     The  new  Constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people, 
who,  in  the  newspapers,  legislative  halls,  and  elsewhere,  discussed  it 
with  earnestness  and  thoroughness;    the   ratification   of  nine   states 
being  requisite  before  it  could  go  into  effect.     It  met  with  considerable 
opposition;  but  after  it   had  been  adopted  by  all  the  states,  except 
North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island,  it  went  into  operation  March  -1th, 
1789. 


Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

THE  CONSTITUTION  WAS  ADOPTED  AS  FOLLOWS  BY  : 

Maryland     April  28,  1788 


Delaware Dec.    7,  1787 

Pennsylvania Dec.  12,  1787 

New  Jersey Dec.  18,  1787 

Georgia Jan.    2,1788 

Connecticut Jan.    9,  17'88 

Massachusetts Feb.    6, 1788 


South  Carolina May    23,     _ 

New  Hampshire June  21   1788 

Virginia June  26,  1788 

New  York July  26,  1788 

North  Carolina Nov.  21,  178*9 


Rhode  Island May  29,  1790. 


THE  CONSTITUTION. 

PEE  AMBLE.1 

WE,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  bless 
ings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  CONSTITUTION  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE   I.     THE  LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT. 

SECTION  I.      Congress  in  General. 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives. 

SECTION  II.     House  of  Representatives. 

1st  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of 
members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  states, 
and  the  electors  in  each  state  shall  have  the  qualifications  require 
for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  state  legislature. 

%d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  ye  irs,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen 
of  the  United  S.ates,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  in 
habitant  of  that  state  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3^  Clause.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union, 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by 
adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to 
service  for  a  term  of  years,  and,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three- 

1  The  object  of  the  Preamble  is  to  state  the  purposes  of  the  Constitution.  Three  gen 
eral  departments  of  government  are  established  under  the  Constitution,  viz. :  the  legis 
lative,  the  power  that  enacts  the  laws  :  the  executive,  the  power  that  enforces  he  Jaws  ; 
and  the  judicial,  the  power  that  interprets  the  laws, 


Constitution  of  tlie   United  States.  7 

fifths  of  all  other  persons.1  (See  Article  XIV.  of  the  Amendments.) 
The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every 
subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law 
direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every 
thirty  thousand,  but  each  state  shall  have  at  least  one  representative; 
and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  state  of  New  Hampshire 
shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New 
Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Vir 
ginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4th  Clause.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
state,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to 
fill  such  vacancies. 

5th  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their 
speaker  and  other  officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  im 
peachment.2 

SECTION  III.      The  Senate. 

1st  Clause.  The  Senate  of  the  United  State-!  shall  be  composed  of 
two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereor,  for  six 
years  ;  and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2d  Clause.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  conse 
quence  of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may 
be  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall 
be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at 
the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expira 
tion  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second 
year;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during 
the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  state,  the  executive  thereof  may 
make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legisla 
ture,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies.1 

3d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  at 
tained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of 
that  state  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

1  By  the  term  "  all  other  persons1'  was  meant  slaves. 

2  An  impeachment  id  an  accusation  against  a  public  officer,  charging  him  with  mis 
conduct  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties. 

3  A  senator's  full   term  consists  of  six  years  ;  he  is  chosen  by  the  legislature  of  his 
State.    A  representative's  full  term,  is  only  two  years  :  he  is  elected  by  the  people  of 
his  congressional  district, 


8  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

4th  Clause.  The  vice-president  of  the  United  States  shall  be  presi 
dent  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally 
divided. 

5th  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
president  pro  tempore,2  in  the  absence  of  the  vice-president,  or  when 
he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  president  of  the  United  States. 

Qth  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  ail  im 
peachments.  When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  all  be  on  oath 
or  affirmation.  When  the  president  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the 
chief-justice  shall  preside  ;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

1th  Clause.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States  ; 
but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  in 
dictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

SECTION  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1st  Clause.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
senators  and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  state  by  the 
legislature  thereof  ;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law  make 
or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  senators.1 

2d  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year, 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

SECTION  V.      The  Houses  Separately. 

1st  Clause.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns, 
and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall 
constitute  a  quorum2  to  do  business  ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  ad 
journ  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attend 
ance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as 
each  house jiiay  provide. 

2d  Clause.     Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 

1  A  "president  pro  tempore"  is  one  chosen  only  for  the  time  being. 

2  An  act  of  Congress  requires  the  legislature  of  each  state,  which  shall  be  chosen  next 
preceding  the  expiration  ot  any  senatorial  term,  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  its  tirst  meet 
ing,  to  elect  a  successor,  each  house  nominating  viva  voce,  and  then  convening  in  joint 
assembly  to  compare  nominations.    In  case  of  agreement,  such  person  shall  t>t  declared 
duly  elected  ;  and  if  they  do  not,  agree,  then  balloting  to  continue  from  day  toda^,  at  12 
M.  during  the  session,  until  choice  has  been  made.    Vacancies  are  to  be  filled  in  like 
manner. 

3  By  a  quorum  is  meant  a  pufticien'  number  to  do  business.    Usually  a  majority  is  a 
quorum. 


Constitution  of  tlie  United  States.  9 

punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence 
of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

3d  Clause.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in 
their  judgment  require  secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  mem 
bers  of  either  house  on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-filth  of 
those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4th  Clause.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be 
sitting. 

SECTION  VII.     Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

1st  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compen 
sation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States.1  They  shall,  in  all  cases,  except  treason, 
felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,2  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their 
attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either 
house,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

%d  Clause.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  author- 
tiy  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolu 
ments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  per 
son  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

SECTION  VII.     Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

\st  Clause.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amend 
ments  as  on  other  bills. 

2d  Clause.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented 
to  the  president  of  the  United  States  ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it, 
but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which 

1  The  members  of  Congress  are  compensated  for  their  services  by  the  general  govern 
ment,  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.    Each  member  receives  $5000  per  an 
num,  and  mileage  at  the  rate  of  twenty  cents  a  mile.    For  each  day's  absence,  except 
when  caused  by  sickness,  $8  per  diem  is  deducted  from  the  salary.     The  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  receives  double  the  salary  of  a  member. 

2  Treason  is  defined  by  the  Constitution  (see  Article  III.,  Section  III.  p.  18).     Felony 
is  a  crime  punishable  with  death.    A  breach  of  the  peace  is  a  violation  of  the  public 
order, 


10  Constitution  of  tlie   United  States. 

it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their 
journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.1  If  after  such  reconsideration 
two-thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  to 
gether  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  like 
wise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two- thirds  of  that  house,  it 
shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons 
voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each 
house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  president 
within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented 
to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it, 
unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which 
case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

3d  Clause.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concur 
rence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  presi 
dent  of  the  United  States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall 
be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by 
two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to 
the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill.2 

SECTION  VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1st  Clause.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
pay  the  debts,  *.md  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare 
of  the  United  States  ;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uni 
form  throughout  the  United  States.3 

2d  Clause.     To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

3d  Clause.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among 
the  several  state  ,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

4th  Clause.     To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,4  and  uni- 

1  The  president's  act  of  objecting  to  a  bill  IB  called  a  veto.    This,  the  veto  power,  was 
given  to  the  president  to  enable  him  to  protect  the  executive  department  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  legislative.     It  was  also  given  with  a  view  to  greater  security 
against  the  enactment  of  improper  laws 

2  If  it  were  not  for  this  provision,  Congress  might  pass  laws,  calling  them  orders  or 
resolutions,  and  thu*  evad  'the  president's  veto. 

3  Taxes  are  contributions  of  money  exacted  by  government  from  individuals  for  pub 
lic  purposes.    They  are  of  two  kinds  :    direct,  when  they  are  laid  on  the  person  or 
property  of  individuals;  and  indirect,  when  laid  on  ihe  importation,  expprtadon,  and 
consumption  of  goods.    Duties  are  taxes  on  the  impo  tation  or  exportation  of  goods. 
Imports  ?ire  taxes  on  goods  imported.    Excises  ;  re  taxes  on  goods  produced  or  manu 
factured  in  the  country. 

4  The  act  by  which  a  foreigner  becomes  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  is  called  nat 
uralization.    A  person  must  n-side  in  this  country  rive  years  before  he  can  be  natural 
ized  and  thus  be  entitled  to  nil  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship. 


Constitution  of  the  United  States.  11 

form   laws   on   the   subject   of  bankruptcies   throughout    the    United 
States ; 

5th  Clause.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  ; 

Qth  Clause.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the 
securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States ; 

nth  Clause.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  ; 

8th  Clause.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by 
securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right 
to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries  ;' 

9th  Clause.     To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  court ; 

10th  Clause.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed 
on  the  high  seas,  and  offenres  Mgainst  the  law  of  nations  ;* 

llth  Clause.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,3 
and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

12th  Clause.  To  raise  and  support  armies  ;  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  j'ears; 

13th   Clause.     To  provide  and  maintain  a  n<ivy  ; 

14th  Clause.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of 
the  land  and  naval  forces  ; 

15th  Clause.  To  provide  for  cilling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the 
laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions  ; 

16^  Clause.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining 
the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  states  respectively 
the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  mili 
tia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress  ; 

llth  Clause.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever,  over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by 
cession  of  particular  states,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become 
the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  ;  and  to  exercise  like 
authority  overall  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of 
the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  maga- 

1  This  exclusive  right  extended  to  author*  is  called  a  copy-right  It  is  granted  for  a 
period  of  twenty-eight  years,  after  which  it  may  be  renewed  for  the  further  period  of 
fourteen  years.  Tin-,  inventor  of  a  machine  is  entitled  to  the  excl  isive  right,  called  a 
patent  right,  of  manufacturing  it  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  At  the  end  of  the  four 
teen  years  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  is  authorized  to  extend  the  right  for  the  fur 
ther  period  of  seven  years. 

'*  Piracy  is  de  ned  as  "robbery  on  the  high  s^as,"  the  "high  seas"  being  all  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  beyond  the  boundaries  of  low-water  tna-k. 

3  '•  Letters  of  marque  and  reprisal'1  are  commissions,  granted  by  th"  government  to 
individuals,  authorising  thein  to  p"ey  upon  the  commerce  ff  another  nation. 


12  Constitution  of  the   United  States. 

zines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings;1— and 

18th  Clause.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or 
in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

SECTION  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the   United  States. 

1st  Clause.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any 
of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  pro 
hibited  by  the  Congress  prior  t  >  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person.2 

2d  Clause.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public 
safety  may  require  it.3 

3d  Clause.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be 
passed.4 

4th  Clause.  No  capitatio  -,5  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless 
in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be 
taken. 

5th  Clause.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from 
any  state. 

6th  Clause.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com 
merce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another ;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  state,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or 
pay  duties  in  another. 

1th  Clause.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  con 
sequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law  ;  and  a  regular  statement  and 
account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be 
published  from  time  to  time. 

1  Tn  1788  Maryland  coded  60  square  miles  of  land,  and  next  year  Virginia  ceded  40 
square  miles,  to  the  United  States  as  a  site  for  the  national  capital.     This  made  a  square 
of  10  miles,  or  100  square  miles,  60  ^qnare  miles  being  on  the  cast  side  of  the  Potomac 
and  4')  on  the  west,  which  was  named  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  honor  of  Christopher 
Columbus.     The  tract  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river  was  retroceded  to  that  State  in 
1840.  consequently  the'District  now  consists  of  the  territory  ceded  by  Maryland  in  1788. 

2  By  the  term  "  such  person"  was  meant  slaves.     The  great  object  of  the  clause  was 
to  enable  Congress  to  put  an  end  to  the  importation  of  t-laves  into  the  United  States, 
and  this  was  accomplished  by  a  law  which  went  into  effect  on  the  1st  of  January,  1808. 

3  "  A  writ  of  habeas  corpus11  is  a  written  command  from  a  judge  or  other  magistrate, 
directing  that  the  body  of  a  certain  person  shall  be  brought'  before  him.    Its  object  is  to 
provide  a  means  of  redress  for  all  manner  of  illegal  imprisonment. 

4  A  bill  of  attainder  is  an  act  of  the  legislature  inflicting  the  punishment  of  death, 
without  trial,  upon  persons  supposed  to  be  guilty  of  high  crimes.    An  ex  post  facto  law 
is  a  law  which  renders  an  act  punishable  which  was  not  punishable  at  the  time  of  its 
commission. 

6  A  capitation  tax  is?  fi  direct  tax  upon  individuals, 


Constitution  of  the  United  States.  13 

8th  Clause.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States ;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolu 
ment,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or 
foreign  state. 

SECTION  X.     Powers  denied  to  the  States. 

1st  Clause.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  con 
federation  ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit 
bills  of  credit;1  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law, 
or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

2d  Clause.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay 
any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  export-,  except  what  may  be  ab 
solutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws;2  and  the  net 
produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  state  on  imports  or  ex 
ports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and 
all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the  Con 
gress. 

3d  Clause.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,3  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter 
into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  state,  or  with  a  foreign 
power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  immi 
nent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE   II.     THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT. 
SECTION  I.     President  and   Vicf -President. 

1st  Clause.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  president  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the 
term  of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  vice-president,  chosen  for 
the  same  term,  be  elected  as  follows.4 

2d  Clause.  Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legisla- 

:  Bills  of  credit,  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution,  are  bills  intended  to  circu 
late  as  money  among  the  people. 

2  Inspectio'n  laws  require  certain  articles  of  commerce  to  be  examined  by  officers 
called  inspectors. 

3  A  tax  laid  on  vessels  at  a  certain  rate  per  ton  is  called  a  duty  of  tonnage. 

4  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Con-titufion  does  not  limit  tho  number  of  terms  for  which  a 
president  may   be  re-elected.      Washington,    at  the  close   of  his  second    term,   de 
clined  to  be  a  f-andidate  for  a  third  t(irm  ;  and  this  example  lias  been  a  precedent  by 
which  subsequent  pr  'sidents  liava  been  guided.     The  -president  and  vice-prc  'i'lcnt  are 
not  chosen  by  the  people  directly,  but  by  electors. 


L4  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

ture  thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  num 
ber  of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the  state  may  be  entitled 
in  the  Congress;  but  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding 
an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  elector. 

THE  TWELFTH    AMENDMENT    TO    THE    CONSTITUTION.1 

1st  Clause.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  president  and  vice-president,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they 
shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  president,  and  in 
distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  vice  president,  and  they  shall 
make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  president,  and  of  all 
persons  voted  for  as  vice-president,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to 
the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  presi 
dent  of  the  Senate;  the  president  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted,  the  person  having  the  greatest  num 
ber  of  votes  for  president,  shall  be  the  president,  if  such  number  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person 
have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  num 
bers,  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  president, 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the 
president.  But  in  choosing  the  president,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote;  a  quorum 
for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two- 
thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary 
to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
president  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before 
the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  vice-president  shall 
act  as  president,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional 
disability  of  the  president. 

2d  Clause.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  vice 
president,  shall  be  the  vice  president,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have  a 

1  The  original  clause  of  the  Constitution,  prescribing  the  mode  in  which  the  president 
and  vice-president  were  to  be  elected,  was  repealed  in  1804,  and  the  twelfth  amendment 
(as  given  above)  was  adopted  in  its  place.  By  the  original  clause,  the  electors  voted  for 
two  persons  without  naming  t'ic'r  clioice  for  the  higher  position,  "  th  •  person  having 
the  greatest  number  of  votes11  bcin<r  d<-clared  president,  and  the  next,  vice-president. 
Washington,  John  Adams  and  Jefferson,  {for  first  term)  were  go  elected. 


Constitution  of  tlie  United  States.  15 

majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate 
shall  choose  the  vice-president;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  con 
sist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

3d  Clause.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
president  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  vice-president  of  the  United 
States. 

4th  Clause.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day 
shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States.1 

5th  Clause.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  president ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligi 
ble  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five 
years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

6th  Clause.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  president  from  office,  or 
of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  vice-president; 
and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death, 
resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  president  and  vice-president,  de 
claring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  president,  and  such  officer  shall 
act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  president  shall 
be  elected.2 

1th  Clause.  The  president  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his 
services  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor 
diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected, 
and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument 
from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them.3 

8th  Clause.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he 
shall  take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation  :  — 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  president  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of 


1  In  the  event  of  there  being  no  president  of  the  United  States,  or  vice-president,  as 
stated  above,  the  president  of  the  Senate,  pro  tempore,  shall  act  as  president ;  and.  in 
the  event  of  there  being  no  president  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  act  as  president. 

2  The  electors  are  chosen  by  the  people  on  the  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in 
the  last,  November  of  each  presidential  term  ;  and  the  electors  meet  to  give  tl.eir  votes 
on  the  tirst  Wednesday  in  the  next  succeeding  December,  in  their  respective  states,  at 
the  places— usually  the  capital  -appointed  by  the  state  legislatures. 

3  The  president's  salary  is  $50,000  a  year,  together  with  the  use  of  the  presidential 
mansion  and  its  furniture.    The  vice-president's  salary  is  $8,000  a  year,    The  president 
pro  tern,  of  the  Senate  receives  the  same  compensation  as  the  vice-president, 


18  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

3d  Clause.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeach 
ment,  shall  he  by  jury  ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state 
where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not 
committed  within  any  state,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or 
places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

SECTION  III.      Treason. 

\st  Clause.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only 
in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giv 
ing  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  trea 
son  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act, 
or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2d  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punish 
ment  of  treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption 
of  blood,  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted.1 

ARTICLE  IV.     MISCELLANEOUS  PROVISIONS. 

SECTION  T.     State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  state  to  the  public  acts, 
records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  state.  And  the  Con 
gress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts, 
records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

SECTION  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens. 

\st  Clause.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  entitled  to  all  priv 
ileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  states. 

2d  Clause.  A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or 
other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  state, 
shall  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  state  from  which  he 
fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of 
the  crime. 

3d  Clause.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any 
law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but 
shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or 
labor  may  be  due.2 

J  Attainder  means  a  staining,  corruption,  or  rendering  impure  :  and  by  corruption  of 
blood  a  person  is  disabled  to  Inherit  lands  from  an  ancestor,  nor  can  lie  either  retain 
those  in  his  possession  or  transmit  them  by  descent  to  his  heirs.  They  go  to  the  gov- 

2  The  person  referred  to  was  a  fugitive  slave  or  person  bound  by  indentures  of  appren 
ticeship.  The  "  fugitive  slave  law  :'  passed  by  Cougr.  ss  doting  i  iilmore  s  admmutra 


Constitution  of  the  United  States.  19 


SECTION  III.     New  States  and  Territories. 

l*t  Clause.  New  states  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union ;  but  no  new  state  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  juris 
diction  of  any  other  state ;  nor  any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of 
two  or  more  states,  or  parts  of  states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legis 
latures  of  the  states  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2d  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  prop 
erty  belonging  to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  any  particular  state. 

SECTION  IV.     Guarantees  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  state  in  this  Union  a  re 
publican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion ;  and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive 
(when  the  legislature  cannot  be  convened;,  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V.     POWERS  OF  AMENDMENT. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it 
necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the 
application  of  the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall 
call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case, 
shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution, 
when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three-fourth  of  the  several  states, 
or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other 
mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress :  provided  that 
no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth 
clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  state,  with 
out  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.     PUBLIC  DEBT,  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION,  OATH 

OF  OFFICE,  RELIGIOUS  TEST. 
1st   Clause.     All    debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into, 


tion  under  authority  of  this  clause  was  productive  of  mwh  excitement  in  the  country.  At 
the  North  public  sentiment  was  against  it,ard  it  was  only  executed  through  the  most  de 
termined  effort  of  the  government.  In  Boston  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  soldiers 
and  policemen  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  people  from  setting  free  a  captured  fugi 
tive  slave  who  was  about  to  be  sent  South  to  his  owner.  All  this  has  been  changed  by 
the  adoption  of  the  last  three  articles  of  the  amrnd.ments  to  the  Constitution.  (See  p,) 


20  Constitution  of  the   "United  States. 

before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2d  Clause.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the  judges  in  every  state  shall 
be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  state 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3d  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  states, 
shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution ;  but 
no  religious  test  shall  eT-er  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office 
or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII.     RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 
The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  states,  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  states  so  ratify 
ing  the  same. 


AMENDMENTS.1 

PROPOSED    BT    CONGRESS,    AND    RATIFIED     BY    THE    LEGISLATURES   OP    THE    SEVERAL 
STATES,  PURSUANT  TO  THE  FIFTH  ARTICLE   OF  THE  ORIGINAL  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I.     Freedom  of  Religion. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech,  or  of  the  press  ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assem 
ble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II.     Right  to  lear  Arms. 

A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

1  While  the  constitution  was  under  discussion,  and  before  it  had  been  adopted  by  the 
•cauisite  nine  states,  it  was  generally  believed  that  it  did  not  sufficiently  protect  the 
rights  of  the  people.  With  a  view,  iherefore,  of  securing  to  both  people  and  states  cer 
tain  rtehts  beyond  the  possibility  of  thrir  being  encroached  upon,  the  first  ten  articles 
of  the  amendments  were  proposed  in  1789.  during  tne  first  session  of  the  first  Congre-< 
under  the  Constitution,  and,  having  been  ratified  by  three  fourths  of  fe  states,  were 
declared  adopted  in  179}. 


Constitution  of  the  United  States.  21 

ARTICLE  III.      Quartering  Soldiers  on  Citizens. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  with 
out  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war  but  in  a  manner 
to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV.     Search  Warrants. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  riot  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable 
cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing 
the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V.      Trial  for  Grime. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  in 
famous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand 
jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the 
militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;J  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  shall  pri 
vate  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI.     Eights  of  accused  Persons. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
a  speedy  and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  state  and  dis 
trict  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district 
shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed 
of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtain 
ing  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for 
his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII.     Suits  at   Common  Law. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  ex 
ceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 
court  of  the  United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com 
mon  law. 

1  No  person  can  be  a  second  time  tried  for  an  offence  of  which  he  has  been  le°-ally 
acqu.tted. 


Constitution  of  the  United  States. 


AKTICLE  VIII.     Excessive  Bail. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX.     Rights  Retained  ~by  the  People* 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not 
be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ACTICLE  X.     Reserved  Rights  of  the  States. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti 
tution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the  states 
respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI.1 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed 
to  extend  to  any  suit,  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  state,  or  by 
citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  state. 

ARTICLE  XIII.2     Slavery. 

SECTION  I.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con 
victed,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction. 

SEC.  II.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro 
priate  legislation.3 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

SECTION  T.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  state  wherein  they  reside.  No  state  shall  make  or  enforce  any 
law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States;  nor  shall  any  state  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property,  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  any  person  within 
its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

SEC.  II.  Representatives  shall   be  apportioned  among   the  several 

1  The  eleventh  amendment  was  proposed  by  Congress  in  1794,  and  declared  adopted 
in  1798. 

2  For  the  twelfth  amendment,  *ee  the  Appendix,  p.  14. 
8  See  the  History,  p.  :  9ti. 


Constitution  of  the  United  States.  23 

states  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  num 
ber  of  persons  in  each  state,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when 
the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  presi 
dent  and  vice-president  of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Con 
gress,  the  executive  and  judical  officers  of  a  state,  or  the  members  of 
the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of 
-uch  state,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
states,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or 
o'her  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the 
proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the 
whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  state. 

SEC.  III.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Congress, 
or  elector  of  president  and  vice-president,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or 
military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  state,  who,  having 
previously  taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of 
the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  state  Legislature,  or  as  an 
executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  state,  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion 
against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house,  remove  such 
disability. 

SEC.  IV.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  au 
thorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and 
bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not 
be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  state  shall  as 
sume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  eman 
cipation  of  any  slave  ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall 
be  held  illegal  and  void. 

SEC.  V.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate 
legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV. 

SEC.  I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be 
denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  state,  on  account, 
of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

SEC.  II.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation.1 

1  See  the  History,  p.  298. 


INDEX. 


Abercromby 108 

Acadia 41,  101,  105 

Adams,  John.  139, 146, 182,  183, 191, 223,  304 

Adams,  J.  Q 222 

Adams,  Samuel 128,  132 

Alabama 35,  220,  256 

Alabama  Claims 298 

Alabama,  privateer 264,  289,  298 

Alarcon 37 

Alaska 297 

Albemarle  Colony : 98 

Alexandria,  Va 261 

Algiers 216 

Alien  and  Sedition  Laws 192 

Allen,  Ethan 135, 141 

American  party 253,  255 

Amerigo  Vespucci 30 

Anderson,  Mai 256,  258 

Andre,  Maj 169 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund 73,  86 

Annapolis,  Md 177,  178 

Annapolis,  N.  S 41,  101 

Antietam,  Battle  of 273 

Anti-Federalist 179 

Appomattox  Court  House 293 

Argall 56 

Arkansas 45,  229,  261 

Post,  Capture  of 274 

Arnold,  Benedict.  141,  157,159,168,  172,  174 

Articles  of  Confederation 178 

Astor,  John  Jacob 257 

Astoria,  Oregon 257 

Atlanta,  Capture  of 285 

Atlantic  Cable 301 

Aztecs 241 

Bacon's  Rebellion 59 

Bainbridge,  Coin 207 

Balboa 31 

Baltimore,  city 112,  213 

Baltimore,  Lord 87,  90 

Bancroft,  George 303 

Bank  of  United  States 184,  227 

Banks,  Gen 272,  281,  284 

Barbary  States 198 

Baum,  Col 158 

Beauregard,  Gen. 259,  262,  266 

Bell,  John 255 

Belmout,  Battle  of 263 

Bennington,  Battle  of 158 

Berkeley,  Sir  William  .59,    86 

Black  Hawk's  War 230 

Bon  Homme  Richard 166 

Boone,  Daniel 190 

Boston .18,  68,  106,  115,  127,  135,  298 

Massacre 127 

Tea  Party 128 

Braddock,  Gen 106 

Bradford,  Gov 65,  66,  67 

Bragg,  Gen 239,  282 

Brandy  wine,  Battle  of 153 

Breckenridge,  John  C 255 

Breed's  Hill- 136 


Brewster,  Elder 61 

Brooklyn 147 

Brown,  Gen.  Jacob 212 

Brown,  John 253 

Bryant,  W.  C 303 

Buchanan,  James 253 

Buena  Vista 239 

Bull  Run,  Battle  of 261,  272 

Bunker  Hill 135,  136,  222 

Burgoyne,  Gen 156 

Burnside,  Gen 274,  283 

Burr,  Aaron 141,  195,  200 

Butler,  Gen.  B.  F 268,288 

Cabots 30,  60,  103 

Cabrillo ...     37 

Calhoun,  John  C 224,  226,  228,  247 

California 239,  243,  247 

Calvert,  Sir  George  87 

Camdenv  S.  C 167, 173 

Canada 140 

Canals  226 

Cape  Charles  .   .  152 

Cod 64,115 

Henry 52 

Carolina 40,  96, 113 

Carteret,  Sir  George 86 

Cartier  41 

Carver,  Gov 64 

Cedar  Creek,  Battle  of. 288 

Mountain,  Battle  of 272 

Centennial  Celebration 300 

Cerro  Gordo,  Battle  of 240 

Charnbersburg 273,  277,  288 

Champlain 41 

Chancellorsville 277 

Charleston. .  .99,  113,  143,  166,  256,  259,  290 

Charlestown  68,  132,  137 

Chattanooga 282 

Chemung,  Battle  of 164 

Cherry  Valley,  Massacre  of. 164 

Chesapeake  and  Leopard 204 

and  Shannon 208 

Chicago 44,  298,  301 

Chickahominy  River 271 

Chickamauga 282 

Chippewa,  Battle  of 212 

Christian  Commission 279 

Cincinnati 301 

Civil  War 256 

Clarendon  County  Colony 98 

Clayborne's  Rebellion 88,  90 

Clark,  Gen.  G.  R 164 

Clay,  Henry 222,  229,  237,  247 

Clinton,  De  Witt 177 

Clinton,  Gen 142,  162,  166 

Cold  Harbor,  Battle  of 287 

Colonial  Congress  of  1765 126 

Colleges 116 

Colorado 300 

Columbia  River 257 

Columbia,  S.  C 290 

Columbus 15,  18,  19,  31 


26 


Index. 


Compromises 220,  229,  247 

Concord 131,  134 

Confederacy,  Formation  of 256 

Confederation,  Articles  of 256 

Congress,  Continental 130,  139,  177 

Connecticut % 69,  113 

Reserve 195 

Constitution  of  the  United  States. ...  178 

and  Guerriere 207 

Continental  Money 118 

Cooper,  J.  F 302 

Cooper,  Peter 233 

Corinth,  Miss 266,  274 

Cornwallis,  Lord 149,  168,  174, 175 

Coronado 37 

Cortez 34,  37 

Cotton 114,  188,  224 

Cotton-gin 114,  187,  302 

Cowpens,  Battle  of . .  173 

Crawford,  W.  H 222 

Creek  War 211 

Crown  Point 107,  156 

Cuba 22 

Davenport,  John 70* 

Davis,  Jefferson 256,  259,  291 

Deane,  Silas 154 

Dearborn,  Gen 212 

De  Ayllon 34 

Decatur,  Lieut 199,  207,  217 

Declaration  of  Independence 145 

De  Gama,  Vasco 19 

De  Grasse 174 

DeKalb 168 

Delaware 91,  113 

Delaware,  Lord 56 

De  Leon,  Ponce 32 

DeNarvaez 34 

De  Soto 34 

D'Estaing 162,165 

Detroit 1 1 1 ,  206 

Dieskau 107 

Dinwiddie,  Robert,  Gov  103 

Dix,  John  A 257 

Dorr's  Rebellion ',  235 

Douglas,  Stephen  A 255 

Dover,N.H 67 

Draft  Riot 281 

Drake,  Sir  Francis 37 

"Dred  Scott"  Decision 254 

Du  Quesne 104 

Dutch  Explorations 47,  80 

Early,  Gen 288 

Eaton,  Theophilus 70 

Education 116 

Elizabeth,  Queen 38 

Elizabethtown  (Elizabeth),  N.  J 87 

Emancipation  Proclamation 276 

Embargo 205 

Endicott,  John 68 

English  Explorations 29-60 

Erie,  Pa 16 

Eutaw  Springs,  Battle  of 173 

Everett,  Edward 227 

Fair  Oaks,  Battle  of 271 

Faneuil  Hall 129 

Farragut,  Admiral 266,  289 

Federalist  party 179 

Field,  Cyrus  W 301 

Fillmore,  Millard    247 

Fitch,  John 201 


Five  Forks,  Battle  of. 291 

Flag,  Adoption  of  the  National 158 

Florida 33,  47,  214,  220,  244,  256 

Floyd,  Gen 265 

Foote,  Admiral 265,  266 

Fort  Donelson 265 

Du  Quesne 107 

Edward 107,  158 

Fisher 290 

Henry 265 

Lee 149 

McAllister 287 

McHenry 214 

Mems 211 

Moultrie 143,  256 

Pickens 257 

Pillow  . 284 

Pitt 108,  111 

Pulaski 267 

Schuyler 156 

Stanwix 156 

Sumter 256,257,290 

Washington 149 

William  Henry  107 

Fortress  Monroe  261,  271  ' 

Fox,  George 74 

France 160,  161,  192,  196 

Franklin,  Benjamin. 

115,  126,  146,  154,  160,  165,  179,  231 

Fredericksburg 274 

Free  Soil  party 245 

Fremont,  John  C 239,  253,  263,  272 

French  Explorations     41-96 

French  and  Indian  War 102,  125 

Fugitive  Slave  law 247 

Fulton,  Robert 201 

Gadsden  Purchase 243 

Gage,  Gen 131,142 

Gansevoort,  Colonel 156 

Garrison,  William  L 232 

Gaspee,  Affair  of  the 128 

Gates,  Gen.... 159,167 

Georgia 35,  99,  112,  1G4, 220,  256,  282 

Germantown,  Battle  of 154 

Gettysburg,  Battle  of. . 277 

Ghent,  Treaty  of 216 

Gorges 67 

Gosnold,  Bartholomew 54,  60 

Grand  Model 98 

Grant,  Gen  263,  265,  285,  297 

Great  Meadows 105 

Salt  Lake 249 

Greeley,  Horace 299 

Greene,  Gen 135,  151,  172,  174,  187 

Greenland . .     16 

Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  Treaty 243 

Guilford  Court  House 173 

Hadley,  Surprise  of 76 

Hale,  Capt.  Nathan 149, 171 

Halleck,  Gen 266,  272 

Hamilton,  Alexander 178,  179,  184,  200 

Hancock,  John 129,  132,  146,  147 

Harmar,  Gen.,  Defeat  of. .185 

Harper's  Ferry 254,261,273 

Harrison,  Gen £05,  211,  23u,  233 

Hartford 69 

Convention 215 

Hatteras  Inlet 263 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B  304,  308 

Hayne,  Col 166 


Index. 


Henry,  Patrick 126,  131, 138,  304 

Herkimer,  Gen 156 

Hessians 148,150,159 

Hispaniola 22 

Hobkirk's  Hill,  Battle  of 173 

Hood,  Gen 285 

Hooker,  Gen 271,276 

Hooker,  Rev.  Thomas 69 

Howe,  Admiral 153 

Howe,  Elias 302 

Howe,  Gen 136,  142,  148,  153,  162 

Hubbardton.  Battle  of 156 

Hudson,  Henry 47,  80 

Hudson  River 47,  80 

Huguenots 96,  112 

Hull,  Capt 207 

Hull,  Gen 206 

Iberville  River,  La Ill 

Iceland..., 16,  18 

Illinois 43,  220 

Indiana 219 

Indians 22,25,66 

Indian  wars 59,  70,  76,  185,  219,  230 

Internal  Improvements 225 

Inventions 187,  301 

Iowa 244 

Irving,  Washington 302 

Iroquois 102 

Isabella,  Queen 21 

Island  No.  10 266 

Jackson,  Andrew 211,  219,  226 

Jackson,  "  Stonewall  " 271,  277 

Jamestown 53 

Jasper,  Sergeant 143 

Jay,  John  131,  179,  185,  186 

Jefferson,  Thomas 145,  184,  195,  223 

Johnson,  President  290,  295 

Johnson,  Col.  R.  M 230 

Johnston.  Gen.  A.  S 266 

Johnston,  Gen.  J.  E 271,  285,  290,  293 

Joliet,  the  explorer 41 

Jones,  John  Paul 165 

Kansas 37,  249,  253 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill 249 

Kearny,  Gen 239 

Kentucky 190,  265 

Kidd,  Captain 84 

Kieft,  Gov 83 

King  George's  War 101 

~   Philip's  War 75 

William's  War 101 

King's  Mountain,  Battle  of 172 

Kingston 160 

Knox,  Gen 177,  184 

Knoxville 283 

Lafayette 152,  162,  172,  220,  221 

Lake  Champlain 107,  240,  156,  213 

Erie 209 

George 108 

La  Salle 43,  102 

Lawrence,  ( 'apt 208 

Lee,  Arthur  154 

Lee,  Gen.  Charles 140,  142, 162 

Lee,  Col.  Henry 173,  194 

Lee,  Richard  Henry 131,  144 

Lee,  Robert  E 271,  274,  282,  288 

Leisler,  Jacob 85 

Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition 196,  257 

Lexington,  Mass.,  Battle  of 134 

Lincoln.  Gen 164,  166 


Lincoln,  President 255,  258,  293 

Livingston,  Robert  R. 184 

Locke,  John 98 

London  Company 52,    58 

Long  Island,  Battle  of 148,  172 

Longstreet,  Gen 283 

Lookout  Mountain,  Battle  of 282 

Louisburg 101,  107 

Louisiana  102,  218,  256 

Louisiana  Purchase..  ..47, 102.  Ill,  196, 

198  (note),  218,  235,  243  (note  1),  257,  299 

(note),  310  (Oregon). 

Lundy's  Lane,  Battle  of . .  » 212 

Madison,  President 179,  205 

Magellan  31 

Magnetic  Telegraph 236 

Maine 60,220 

Malvern  Hill,  Battle  of 271 

March  to  the  Sea 286 

Marco  Polo 18 

Marion,  Gen 143,  166 

Marquette 41 

Maryland 87,  113 

Mason,  John 67 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line 91 

Mason  and  Slidell,  Seizure  of 264 

Massachusetts 68,  74, 113 

Massasoit 67 

Matamoras 239 

Mayflower. 63 

McClellan,  Gen 861,  262,  270,  273,  290 

McCrea,  Jane 158 

McDonough,  Com 213 

McDowell,  Gen 262,  272 

Meade,  Gen 277,  287 

Memphis 266 

Mercer,  Gen 152,  177 

Merrimack  and  Monitor. .     268 

Mexican  War 

Mexico , 37, 

Michigan '££& 

Miller,  Col 212 

Mill  Spring,  Battle  of 265 

Minnesota 257 

Minuit,  Peter 83,  92 

Minute  Men 131 

Missionary  Ridge 282 

Mississippi 35,  41,  220,  256 

Missouri 45,  220 

Mobile 214,289 

Money 118 

Monmouth,  Battle  of 162 

Monocacy,  Battle  of. 288 

Monroe,  President 219 

Montcalm,  Gen 108 

Morocco 198 

Monterey 239 

Montgomery,  Ala 256 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard 140 

Montreal Ill,  141 

Morgan,  Gen 159,  172 

Morgan's  Raid 283 

Mormons,  The 248 

Morris,  Gouverneur , . . . , 200 

Mori'istown 152 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B 236,  301 

Moultrie,  Col 143 

Mound-builders 27 

Mount  Vernon. 178, 182,  194 

Mulligan,  Col 263 


28 


Index. 


Murfreesboro,  Battle  of 282 

Narvaez 34 

Nashville 265,  286 

Nauvoo 248 

Navigation  Acts 113 

Nebraska 249,  297 

Nevada 283,  290 

New  Albion 39 

New  Brunswick 41 

New  England 59,107 

Newfoundland 87 

New  Hampshire 67,  114 

New  Haven  .  * 70 

New  Jersey 80,  86,  113,  117 

New  London 174 

New  Mexico 239,247 

New  Netherlands 69,  83 

New  Orleans 214,  25T,  266 

Newport,  R.  1 163 

Newport,  Capt.  Christopher 52 

Newspapers 115 

New  Sweden 93 

New  York. . .  .80,  83,  112,  116,  126,  177,  257 

Niagara 107,  111 

Norfolk 271 

Norsemen 15 

North  Carolina 96,  135,  184 

North,  Lord 176 

Northmen   -. 15 

Norway 16 

North-west  Territory 190 

Nova  Scotia 41 

Nullification  in  South  Carolina 228 

Nueces  River 238 

Oglesthorpe,  James  Edward 99,  112 

Ohio 28,  103,  196 

Olustee 284 

Oregon 257 

Oriskany 156 

Osceola 230 

Ossawatomie 254 

Otis,  James 126,  304 

Pacific  31,39 

Paine,  Thomas 142 

Pakenham,  Gen 214 

Palo  Alto,  Battle  of 238 

Palos 23 

Paoli  154 

Penn,  William 86,  91 

Pennsylvania 91,  113,  117 

Pensacola 214,  219 

Pequod  War 70 

Perry,  Commodore 209,  250 

Perryville,  Battle  of 274 

Petersburg 288,  292 

Philadelphia 94, 112, 139, 154,  161,  178 

Philip,  King 75 

Phippa,  Sir  William 78 

Pickens,  Gen 166 

Piedmont 288 

Pierce,  President 249 

Pigot,  Gen 138 

Pike,  Gen 212 

Pilgrims .61,  62 

Pillow,  Gen £65 

Pinckney,  W 192 

Pitcairn,  Maj...  ..  138 

Pitt,  William 107,  127 

Pittsburg  Landing,  Battle  of 266 

Pizarro  31 ,  34 


Plains  of  Abraham 110 

Plattsburg 213 

Plymouth  Colony 65,  67 

Company 52,  60 

Council 61 

Pocahontas 55 

Point  Comfort 53,  88 

Political  parties 179 

Polk,  President 237 

Pontiac's  War Ill 

Pope,  Gen 266,  272 

Popham,  George 60 

Porter,  Admiral 215,  266,  284,  290 

Port  Hudson  281 

Royal,  S.  C  97,263 

Royal,  N.  S 41,  101 

Porlo  Rico  32 

Portsmouth 67 

Powhatan 54 

Preble,  Commodore 198 

Prescott,  Col 135 

Princeton,  Battle  of 152 

Printing 115,  302 

Providence 73 

Puebla 240 

Pulaski 154,  165 

Puritans  44,  61,  71,  86 

Putnam,  Gen 135 

Quakers 74,  112 

Quebec 41,  107,  108, 109,  141 

Queen  Anne's  War 101 

Rahl,  Gen 151 

Railroads 232 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter 40,  98 

Randolph,  Edmund 184 

Rawdon,  Lord 173 

Reconstruction  of  Southern  States. 

296,  297 

Red  River  Expedition 284 

Resaca  cle  la  Palma,  Battle  of 238 

Revere,  Paul 132 

Revolution 125 

Rhode  Island 73,  113,  184 

Ribault 96 

Richmond,  Ky 274 

Richmond,  Va 174,  261,  291 

Rio  Grande 35,  238 

Roanoke  Island 40,  52,  267 

Robinson,  John 61 

Rochambeau 174 

Rocky  Mountains 47,  248 

Rolf e,  John 57 

Rosecrans,  Gen 274,  282 

Roger  Williams : 72 

Ross,  Gen  213 

Salem 68 

Witchcraft 78 

San  Francisco 37,  39,  243,  246 

Sanitary  Commission 279 

San  Salvador 22,  33 

Santa  Anna 239 

San ta  Fe 53 

Saratoga,  Battle  of 159 

Savannah 112,  164,  287 

Saybrook  Colony 69 

Schools 115,  116,  255 

Schuyler,  Gen ...  ...  140,  156 

Scott,  Gen 212,  228,  239,  258, 2(51,  2fi2 

Secession 228, 255 

Seininole  Wars 219,  230 


Index. 


Semmes,  Capt 264,  289 

Seward,  William  H 293  (note),  xix 

Sewing  Machine 302 

Shays's  Rebellion 178 

Shenandoah  Valley 271,  288 

Sheridan,  Gen 288,  291,  293 

Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T. .   .  .283,  28 4,  285,  286 

Shiloh,  Battle  of 266 

Slavery. . .  .58,  60,  70,  78, 91  (note),  112,  114, 
(Appendix,  p.  12, 1st  clause,  with  note), 
188,  220,  225,  231,  236,  238,  244,  247,  248, 
249,  253,  254,  255,  258,  259,  270,  284,  296, 
298. 

Slote,  Commodore 239 

Smith,  John 53,  56  (note),  59,  60 

South  Carolina.    96, 113,  228,  255,  256 

South  Mountain,  Battle  of 273 

Spanish  Explorations 21-48 

Speedwell,  the  Ship 63 

Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Battle  of  287 

Stamp  Act 125,127 

Standish,  Miles 64 

Stark,  General 135, 138, 151, 158,  172 

St.  Augustine,  Fla .53  (note),  120 

St.  Clair,  Gen 156,  185 

St.  Lawrence  River 41,  110 

St.  Leger's  Expedition 156 

St.  Louis 301 

St.  Mary's,  Md 89 

Steamboats '. 201,  233 

Still  water,  Battle  of 159 

Stockton,  Com 239 

Stony  Point,  Battle  of 165 

Stuyvesant,  Gov 84,  112 

Sullivan,  Gen 151, 163,  164 

Sumter,  Fort 256, 257,  290 

Sumter,  Gen 166, 167,  256 

Sumter,  Steamer 264 

Swedes 84,  86,  94 

Tariff 225, 228,  229 

Tarleton,.Col 173 

Taxation,  Colonial 127,  129 

Taxed.  Tea 129 

Taylor,  Gen.  Zachary 230, 238,  244 

Tecumseh 205,  211 

Telegraph 236,  301 

Tennessee 190,  261,  265,  282 

Texas 236,  238,  256 

Thames,  Battle  of 211 

Thomas,  Gen 265,  282,  286 

Ticonderoga 107, 108, 135,  156 

Tilden,  S.J 304 

Tippecanoe,  Battle  of 205 

Tobacco 40,  57,  114,  255 

Topical  Reviews 40, 124, 181, 252,  306 

Tories 159, 163 


Treaties  of  Paris Ill,  176 

Trenton 150,  183 

Tripoli,  War  with 198,  218 

Tunis 218 

Tyler,  President 234,  235 

United  States  Bank. . .  184,  227  (note),  235 

Utah .247 

Valley  Forge 155 

Van  Buren,  President 229,  230 

Van  Twiller 83 

Vasco  da  Gama 19  (note) 

Vera  Cruz 240 

Vermont 158,  184 

Verazzani 80  (note) 

Vicksburg 266,  281 

Vinland 18 

Virginia 37, 55, 112, 127,  259,  261,  270 

Virginia  and  Monitor  Battle 268 

Wampum 118 

Ward,  Gen 135 

War  of  1812 .206 

with  Mexico 236 

Warren,  Joseph 129, 132,  138 

Washington 103, 107, 123, 131, 139, 

153,176, 179,  182, 194. 

Washington  City 195,  213,  262 

Wayne,  Gen 154, 165,  185 

Webster,  Daniel 147, 222,  235, 248 

WTesleys,  The 100 

West  Point 81, 169 

West  Virginia 28,  261,  283 

Whiskey  Rebellion 186 

Whitefield,  George 100 

White  Plains 149 

Whitney,  Eli 186 

Wilderness,  Battle  of  the 287 

Wilkes,  Capt 2&4 

Williamsburg,  Va 271 

Williams,  Roger 72 

Wilmington 290 

Wilmot  Proviso 245 

Wilson's  Creek 263 

Winchester 288 

Wingfleld 53 

Wlnslow,  Governor 73 

Winthrop,  the  elder 68 

Winthrop,  the  younger 69 

Wisconsin 41,  244 

Witchcraft 78 

Wolfe,  Gen 109 

Wool,  Gen 271 

Wyoming  Massacre 163 

York  (Toronto),  Canada 212 

York,  Pa 212 

Yorktown,  Va 174 


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